Working with Ghosts
by Nature9000
Summary: After ten years working homicide, Jade musters the courage to open a homicide case that has gone cold after sixteen years. It was the murder case that drove her to work homicide. With the lack of evidence, it won't be easy, but she will do all she can to seek justice for the Vega sisters. Can the case of her career be solved? The truth may be closer than she realizes.
1. Cold Case

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Making sure you realize this isn't a ghost story as the title may suggest, but an investigation story. The title is inspired by a show on the ID network (Investigation Discovery network) It's often said that working homicide you're working with ghosts. The victims are the ghosts and they are your client, if you will. To solve their murder is to put them to rest. Also I hope this will be interactive for you, in other words, as it goes along I really want to hear your thoughts on suspects, the motives, the crime scene and other things going on. Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 1 (The Cold Case)<p>

_It was supposed to be a good day; Jade was looking forward to telling her friend that she and Beck had gotten back together after their most recent break-up. This time it was for good. He had proposed marriage to her, with the promise of waiting until they were done with college._

_ Tori moved out of her family home at the age of eighteen and moved into her sister's apartment. Trina was engaged as well, to the nephew of one of their former teachers. The two of them had an infant child and were preparing for a larger home._

_ "Come on, Beck." Jade left the car just as Beck shifted the gear into park. Her heart was racing from all the excitement and her eyes were scanning the apartment complex. "Tori should be the first to know."_

_ "Technically second," Beck replied while exiting the vehicle. She pursed her lips and glanced back as he rounded the vehicle. "Andre already knows I was planning to propose." It was Beck's way of restoring and solidifying their relationship, and his promise that they would never have to separate again. _

_ He put his hand to the small of her back, sending a wave of heat up her spine. She walked with him as if he were guiding her to the apartment._

_ Their excitement ended as quickly as it had begun the moment they reached the apartment. The first sign of trouble came to Jade's mind when she saw that the door was slightly ajar._

_ Her brow urrowed and her heart came crashing to a halt as a peculiar smell filtered from the door like a wave of smoke coming to surround her. "Something's not right." Her hand gripped Beck's and her nostrils spread as she took in the smell. "They wouldn't just leave the door open like this."_

_ The girls kept their door locked even when they were home. This was just a behavior they adopted from having a police father. _

_ She put her hand to the door and pushed it open, then was struck by a cold sweat when she heard Trina's baby crying off the hook. "You hear that? Rachel. Why is Trina not-"_

_ "Jade." Beck pointed towards the kitchen and Jade got her answer. Rachel was laying down in the living room crib, her little arms were flailing in the air and her feet were kicking at the bars. "Where's Jason?"_

_ "Probably at work." Jason worked late nights at his second job at the supermarket, and would not be home until close to the middle of the morning. She took Rachel into her arms and instantly caught wind of another terrible smell. "She needs a change! Beck, go figure out where the girls are."_

_ She wasn't sure what compelled her to change the baby's diaper despite investigating the reason for the pit of anxiety growing in her stomach. By the time she had done so, Beck was screaming for her to call 911._

_ Horrified, she left Rachel on the changing table and ran to where Beck was. Jade froze in the doorway of Tori's bedroom, and the world around her crashed in a single moment._

_ Tori was lying with her back on the bed. She was fully dressed, her legs were bent at the knees over the foot of the mattress. Her arms were spread out and above her head, which was turned to the right. She had bruises on her wrists and arms, and a gunshot to her head._

_ She was brought to her knees by the sight and felt a shockwave of numbness overcome her as she saw the blood patterns on the walls and the floor. _

_ Tori wasn't the only one. _

_ Her sister was sitting against the wall, her lifeless eyes were open and focused on the bed. She had multiple gunshot wounds to her torso. Her blood was all over the place, with a trail leading to where she had struck the wall, leaving a smeared streak where she sank to her final position._

_ Unable to breathe and reduced to a fit of tears, Jade was only moved when Beck helped her to stand and rushed her out of the apartment._

Sixteen years later their murder remained unsolved, and Jade kept on good terms with Rachel and her father. She and Beck would often visit them, so often that they were like family.

On Thanksgiving, Jade and Beck were over at the Tyler family home, and she was pleased to see Mr. Sikowitz again after nearly twenty years. The man had aged decently, and was perhaps in better shape than his nephew, Jason. His hair was completely gone now, but he still looked the way he had before. Sikowitz still taught at Hollywood Arts, but was on the verge of retiring.

His nephew was a personal trainer at the gym and a fitness instructor. Jason didn't date, he never married, and remained focused on raising his sixteen year old daughter. He didn't look any worse for wear, but Jade could always see in his eyes, he wanted to know who was responsible.

As for Rachel, she'd grown into a beautiful young girl. She was sassy and looked just like her mother, but for Jade it was just a dreadful reminder of the scene that haunted and drove her.

"Tell Dad to start dating again," Rachel said while placing the sweet potatoes on the counter. Jade laughed for a moment, expecting the girl to be joking. Rachel's lips slid into her cheeks and she crossed her arms at her waist. "I'm being serious. Dad's lonely, he needs someone to take care of him."

Sikowitz came from around the corner and sunk a fork into the sweet potatoes to sneak a bite. Jade turned and Rachel called him out. "Your father can handle himself," Sikowitz said while chewing the bite. He swallowed it and flashed a cheesy smile. "How do you always make the best sweet potatoes?'

"It was a recipe mom developed in college." Rachel pulled the tray back as Sikowitz tried to dip his fork back into the potatoes. "Wait until dinner." Rachel then turned to the pot on the stove, stirring the mashed potatoes. Jade saw something in her that she recognized well over the years.

Rachel was hunched over the pot, her shoulders were slumped and her long brown hair hugged them. Her eyes were littered with tears and the skin around her lips were twitching.

It was this way after every holiday, every year, and each year the girl wanted to know more about her aunt and mother. Jade could never tell her the details of the crime, and she tried her best to answer Rachel's questions.

"So, Mrs. Oliver." Rachel curled her hair over her right ear and looked up from the pot. Jade leaned against her elbow against the counter and smiled as the girl's hazel eyes made contact with her. "Any news about Mom and Aunt Tori? Their case is still being worked on, right?"

Jade worked homicide, and it was the grisly murder that drove her. However, the case had gone cold due to the lack of physical evidence and eyewitnesses. Police wanted to focus on Jason, but his alibi was rock solid. They also tried to focus on Tori's boyfriend at the time, Ian Dennison, but he too had an alibi.

Every time Rachel asked, Jade had to tell her they had nothing. "Rachel…" She looked past the girl, and for a moment she thought she could see them: Tori and Trina. They were standing with one arm draped across the other's shoulders and their faces reflected intense disappointment.

"I know, there's still nothing, right?" Rachel dropped her wooden spoon into the potatoes and reached for a can of green beans. This was to be a special type of green bean casserole, another recipe handed down from one of the Vega sisters.

The girl stopped momentarily and brought both hands up to the sides of her head, dipping her fingernails into her honey highlights. Jade reached up as the girl began to tremble, and slowly pulled down her right forearm. "What's on your mind, Rachel?"

Rachel lowered her hands to the counter and began furiously tapping her nails on the surface. She swayed to the right and avoided eye contact. "Nothing." The girl rubbed the side of her neck and craned it. A sigh left her lips and her shoulders rose like mountains.

These were signs the girl was hiding something. She'd grown to be like a mother to her, so she knew when something was troubling her.

"Rachel, I know you. Something's bothering you, talk to me. If there's something you want to say, say it."

The teenager turned towards her and let her hands fall into Jade's. "Okay." Rachel's tears were framing her mouth and dripping from her chin, and the distressed look in her eyes seemed to imply a fear of trouble. "Remember I went to visit you guys and Vanessa a few weeks ago?"

Vanessa was her eldest daughter, just shy of her fourteenth birthday. She was one of Rachel's best friends. "Yes?" Rachel sniffed and raised her hand to her face, sweeping her fingers through the moisture beneath her right eye.

"You know that room you don't want us going into?" Her heart dropped and her eyebrows shot up.

Rachel was talking about her study, where she kept information on the cases she worked. One item in that study was a cardboard box that sat on a shelf at the top of the room. In the box was the evidence and case file of the Vega murder case.

It wasn't uncommon for investigators to take a cold case home to look over it, and that's what she'd done. Still, she hadn't brought herself to look at the contents, fearful that like all before her, she might never solve the case. It would cast far too much doubt in her mind, being the case that drove her into homicide.

"You went into the study?"

"I know you're always saying not to, but I had to see." Rachel's speech broke and she started to stutter. "I saw the pictures. Of Mom, of Aunt Tori. I-I never knew it was that bad, I just…" Jade held her breath and closed her eyes as Rachel's head dropped to her shoulder.

"Don't be mad at me."

Jade wrapped her arms around the girl and gently rubbed her back. This was the very thing she always wanted to protect her from, but it was inevitable that she'd learn exactly how grisly the crime had been.

Rachel had always been a curious girl, and she had the heart of a rebel. If someone told her not to do something, she would do it just to see why she wasn't allowed.

"I'm not upset with you." She looked past Rachel and saw her husband grabbing two beers from the fridge. One of which was likely for Jason; the two had become as brothers over the years. Beck looked at them with a frown and shook his head.

He sauntered out of the room and Jade leaned back and slid her hands up to the girl's upper arms. The poor child should never have been able to see the pictures of the crime scene. It was hard enough for Jade to look, so she could only imagine how terrible of an impact those photos had on the girl.

"How much did you see?"

"Just the crime scene photos. I…I couldn't…" Rachel cupped a hand over her mouth and Jade pulled her close, holding onto her as she wept. "H-Have you given up? The police? It seems like-"

"I haven't given up." The truth of that was that she didn't know what more she could do. That case had all but destroyed the Vega family, and they all still sought out justice. Rachel often acted up, and more recently her grades had been suffering.

She knew this was because of the murders still weighing on her. What Rachel said next shocked Jade's heartbeat to a dead silence. "You never told me I was there. I know you, Dad and everyone wanted to protect me, but I always thought I was with Grandma and Grandpa."

Rachel looked up at her and furrowed her brow, and a single whimper left her lips. "Why would you lie about that? I thought maybe it was a break-in, but I was left alone."

"It wasn't an intentional lie, we were just trying to protect you."

"From what? The truth? That whoever killed my Mom and Aunt left a baby to sit in a pile of feces and with no food?" Rachel bowed her head and closed her eyes. "I don't care about that, I just—I want you not to give up on them. Don't forget about them."

"I won't." She would officially reopen the case, but she didn't know where to begin. It was true that once both men in the girls' lives had been cleared, investigators considered the possibility that this was as robbery gone wrong. There were only two problems with this theory that Jade saw: There was no evidence of a break-in, and Rachel's life seemed to be a testament against the theory.

Why would a burglar with the intent to murder the inhabitants of a home leave a child alive? Jade questioned if it meant a streak of humanity, but the murders had been methodical. Tori's death looked more like an assassination, Trina's looked unplanned.

"I will take another look, Rachel. I promise you." She smiled at the girl and gently kissed the top of her head. "I don't think either your Mom or Aunt would let me put it to rest."

She would start from scratch, that was the plan, but she knew this would likely be a circumstantial case. Without a murder weapon, or even a list of suspects, she didn't know if she could ever solve the murders.

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><p>Like I said, I hope you'll interact and give your thoughts on suspects and other things that go on through this. Give the story time to progress as well since I've got a few projects to finish up on, I just want to have this out and posted, but it shall be updated as all my works. Enjoy, and I'll give you the second chapter now so that you can get an idea of what suspects there are so far. Bear this in mind: Jade has been a homicide detective approximately 10 years at this point though the crime happened sixteen years ago, she also has not begun to reopen or work the case despite it being the reason she joined the force. She's had the box, unopened, in her study as well for nearly a year...but now she will begin working the case. It won't be easy, hope you'll follow along and enjoy this<p> 


	2. List of Suspects

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 2 (List of Suspects)<p>

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Beck stood before Jade's desk in her study, his eyes were filled with concern and his body appeared gravely tense. Before her was the evidence box with the murder of her friend.

"It falls to me now." She took a deep breath and placed her fingers around the lid. "I have to do this." Beck's lips curled in and he moved beside her to place an arm around her shoulders. "I know you're worried about me, Beck. I have to do this. For Tori, for Trina, for Rachel and Jason. I have to reopen the investigation."

"No one has been able to figure it out." His eyebrows meshed together and his eyes dropped down to the box. "I'll support you in this, but if it becomes too much-"

Jade spoke up, interrupting his momentary concern. "I promised her I wouldn't give up." She had been told time and time again in her career that she couldn't solve every case, and some simply got away, but this wasn't one she was going to let go of. "Rachel is counting on me."

"Okay. Just, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know." She was grateful for his support, since it gave her the courage to push on. He knew how involved she could get with the homicide cases she worked; she pursued them like a lioness stalking her prey.

Those were only the 'regular' homicide cases. This was the case of her life, her career, and she was going to pursue this killer not with the cunning of a lion, but with the force of a master hunter.

"I will." Beck kissed her goodnight, then left her study, hoping she would come to bed that night. He must have already realized that she would be up all night, meticulously going over every piece of evidence there was.

With a heavy breath and a stone heart, she lifted the lid of the box. Inside were bags of items obtained in the room, and a folder that many police called a "murder book", essentially a case file. Further evidence, such as garments worn by the victims were in storage lockers.

"God, what am I doing?" In truth, it was the first time she really opened this box since joining the homicide division just ten years ago. The first thing she would have to look at, she knew would be difficult to stomach, so it was best to treat this like any other homicide.

Jade swept her hair over her ear and carefully lifted the case folder from the box as though it might crumble into dust. "What do we have? Two victims." She laid the folder on her desk and stared down at it.

The folder was brown and thick, papers protruded from the sides. The longer she stared at it, the more nervous she became. It was often advised that if a detective was close to a case, they should take caution when working it.

Jade was going to do her best to take caution, so before she even attempted to open that folder, she needed to treat this case like she did not know the victims in a personal way. She needed to be the one to solve it.

"Katrina and Victoria Vega, ages twenty and eighteen." She put her hand to the top of the folder and observed a tremor in her fingers. Her veins were beginning to bulge as hot blood raced through them. "Murdered on December 13th, 2013 in their shared apartment."

Trina was recently engaged to be married to the nephew of a high school teacher. The wedding was to take place shortly after the birth of their first child.

As she opened the folder, the photographs of the crime scene jumped out at her. Though the pictures of Trina had been paper-clipped beneath a photo of the girl in happier times, they did not seem to be hidden beneath as they were.

Jade carefully lifted the photograph of Trina's body and tears fell from her eyes as she remembered the distinct smell of death from all those years prior and discovering the bodies.

The smell was present on every homicide case. Blood had a very sulfur-like smell to her, and it left an impression that no detective could ever forget. Her hand moved to her chest as she examined the photograph closely.

Beside the file for Trina was Tori's file, and her photograph was carefully placed on top. Jade could compare them best side by side, and she was able to gather two distinct identifiers from the crime scene.

"Victim one: Katrina Vega. Multiple gunshot wounds to the waist, the left breast, and beneath her right arm. She also has a gunshot on the back of her left shoulder." Her lower lip tucked beneath her corner teeth and her eyebrows glued to each other as her eyes drifted to Tori's photograph.

"Victim two: Victoria Vega. Clean gunshot wounds, in the style of an assassination. Single gunshot wound to the sternum, and one to the head." To her, it was clear Tori's death was a planned execution while Trina's was unplanned. "Still, the bruises on her arm can't be ignored. Are they defensive bruises? Did she fight her attacker, did she struggle?"

In her mind's eye she did as she had done with multiple other cases, envisioning how the murder might have gone down.

_The killer would have entered Tori's bedroom, pinned her down by the arms while trying to subdue her. He then would have shot her twice, once in the chest and then once in the head._

_ Trina would have heard the shots and raced in, surprising the attacker from behind. A fight would have ensued and the killer would have shot her multiple times during the struggle, leaving behind a warzone. _

It was a plausible theory in her mind, but there were many things that still didn't make sense. From her own knowledge, she couldn't think of anybody that would want the Vega sisters dead. If it was a random break-in, why would Tori's murder have appeared to be an execution rather than a random killing?

Jade shifted through the papers and turned her eyes towards her office door. "No signs of forced entry." The killer would have had to be let in the house by either one of the sisters. "Were they expecting a delivery? Were they expecting visitors?"

To answer her questions, she was going to have to interview witnesses. Her own answers would have to be put aside since she was looking at this as if she did not know the victims. "Let's see if anyone knows whether they would have any enemies."

She knew that she and Trina had never truly gotten along, but that didn't mean she didn't care a little about the girl. Tori made it clear that her friends were to respect Trina, and she did exactly that.

It had to be assumed that the target was Tori, but she didn't know how accurate that was. So to clarify, Jade turned to the crime scene analysis.

To her surprise, the gravitational drops on the floor and the blood splatter on the walls belonged to Trina. "High velocity drops on the ground indicate she was fighting her attacker." She cracked her neck and closed her eyes, sighing heavily as she remembered Trina's martial arts classes. "Not surprising considering she was proficient in martial arts."

As for the blood evidence regarding Tori, there were some gravitational drops at the foot of the bed that indicated she'd been standing when shot. Then there was blood that pooled around her head on the comforter, and blood spatter on the bed that indicated she was shot at point blank range while lying down.

The bullet wound on Tori's head also had a ring of gun residue around it. "This was personal…but that's been established." The most likely suspects to consider where fiancé Jason Tyler, and Tori's boyfriend, Ian Dennison.

She shifted through the statements and began tapping her right forefinger on her lips while reading the alibis. "Time of death suggests they were killed somewhere between three and four in the morning. Jason was at work at theconvenience store at that time…"

Jade carefully removed out the time card that showed when Jason checked in at midnight, checked out for lunch at two, checked back in at two-thirty, then checked out at nine that morning.

"It clears him, but I'll question everyone again to make sure." She knew Jason was unlikely to be the killer, but it was still protocol, and she would have to rule him out as a suspect per her own investigation.

"Now Ian." She put the time card back and moved to Ian's file. It wasn't as clear-cut as Jason's was, but it made sense. Ian was in Sacramento, visiting with a friend for the weekend. His friend admitted that they'd been watching television and finally went to bed at one o'clock.

At five o'clock, Ian's friend woke up to Ian snoring in the next room. Investigators determined that Ian could not have driven from Sacramento at one to kill his girlfriend and girlfriend's sister, only to be back at his friend's home and in bed at five in the morning.

"Alibi checks out, but I'll reconfirm that." Jade rubbed her temples and groaned as the pit in her stomach further twisted beyond her control.

Investigators also questioned the girls' father, whom it was known they had a tense relationship with. Detective Vega had been a well-liked and respectable man, but he was devoted to his work, and that cost him a lot of fights between him and his two daughters.

Jade couldn't imagine he would have murdered his two children in such a way, but right now she couldn't rule anything out. It would not be the first time she'd seen a case where a respected member of society killed his or her own child.

"Another suspect considered was Robert Shapiro." A chuckle fell from her lips as she read the man's profile. Robbie was quite possibly the _only_ one of Tori's friends suspected, and she didn't disagree with investigators over a possible motive.

Even now, he seemed the most likely in her eyes. It was known that he'd been the one to sabotage something in a play that Trina had been in during high school, which put her in the hospital with multiple broken bones. It was also evident Robbie stalked Tori for some time before their high school graduation.

The question was brought to Jade's mind: Could Robbie's obsession with the Vega sisters have gone too far? Was Tori's murder the result of unrequited emotions, and did Trina simply have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"He has the most motive, but I don't know if I can say for sure that he is our suspect." Robbie didn't have an alibi for that night, since at the age of eighteen, he moved out to be on his own. "According to this…" She held her breath and raised the sheet of paper before her, scanning the typewritten words slowly. "Robert Shapiro claims he was at home asleep. Since he lives alone, there's no one to verify his whereabouts."

As she lowered the page, she began to question why investigators never considered her a suspect. Yes, she found the bodies, but she also was the one friend with whom Tori and Trina had the most volatile relationship.

Investigators retrieved statements from everyone that knew the girls, including her at the time, so perhaps they were able to rule her out as a suspect. Her alibi was clear: She'd gotten into a fight with Beck over their recent breakup, she wouldn't take him back unless she knew there would be no other women in his life and that he would be devoted to her.

She spent the night being comforted by her parents, only to be greeted by Beck the next morning. He had purchased a ring and proposed to her, saying that she was the person he wanted to be with.

That said, neither of them were listed as suspects. "Andre checks out, Cat's alibi is confirmed by her roommate." She learned over the years that most murders done in the manner that Tori's and Trina's had been were typically done by a close friend or family member, so various other people in their lives may not even be considered as suspects.

"Robbie is the only one considered…" She rolled her head to the right and dropped her hand down to her neck. "Detective Vega was considered. Jason and Ian were considered. Some old boyfriends were even looked at. What other connections did they have? Who else was in their lives?"

To find out, she was going to have to dig into the girls' past. There were likely things that she had never known about them, but she would have to find out in order to generate a background and a profile.

Once she crafted a profile, she could determine based on their actions, activities, and relationships a profile of people that could very well have wanted to harm them.

Starting from scratch was never an easy task, and while the resources that were before her were helpful, she knew the best way to do this was to rebuild it as if none of this case had been worked before.

So on a large board she kept in her office for casework purposes, she attached the photographs of both sisters. They would remain at the top, and she drew a red circle around them to indicate them as the victims of homicide.

To the right, she wrote the words to represent what angles she wanted to investigate: _Break-in? Revenge murder? Assassination? _

She also knew that once she figured out whether one girl or both had been the initial target, and which one was, she could be a step closer to figuring out what motive there may have been to their deaths.

As she stood before the murder board, she had her left arm folded over her stomach and her elbow perched on top while her finger gently tapped her cheek. Her eyes narrowed at the crime scene pictures beneath the headshot photos and her brow furrowed.

"Which one?" Sometimes the more brutal death was the true target, and other times it was not. If both were targeted, she could consider Detective Vega. If Tori was targeted, it was possible that Robbie had something to do with it.

Then there was Trina. Jade knew from things Tori once said in the past that Trina had multiple negative relationships with some dangerous men in her life before meeting Jason. Whoever these men were could be important as well, and very likely suspects if Trina were the one initially targeted.

"Well." She dropped her arm down and glanced at the clock. It was nearly six in the morning, and she was going to have to wake her kids up soon to get them off to school. "Now's as good a time as any to get started."

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><p>What are your thoughts so far? Right now we don't know much about the lives of the victims, but we do know what other investigators have pointed out which Jade sees here. More will come. Who do you suspect most at this point? What reason do you think there could be behind the murders, and were both girls targeted or did one of them end up in the wrong place at the wrong time? Remember also that not all is what it seems, sometimes the likeliest suspect is the one but sometimes the likeliest suspect is completely innocent...<p> 


	3. Clearing the Fiancé

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: I was thinking I wanted to leave you off with a little more interesting chapter as this story will be slower than the stories I'm currently about to finish. So this is the start of the investigation. Some of my readers may notice a familiar name in Jade's partner on the team. He will obviously take a bigger lead in helping to solve the case because Jade will have to take a backseat on some things, due to her closeness to the case, but that doesn't mean she can't investigate. There are some things she won't be able to do that her partner will have to, such as questioning some suspects.

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><p>Chapter 3 (Clearing the Fiancé)<p>

At the homicide division office, Jade put a photograph on her desk and took a seat. It was a picture of the Vega girls. For her, every case she worked, she would put a picture of the victim on her desk. It served motivation for her to keep pursuing their killer.

To her right was the desk of fellow detective Freddie Benson, a tall Seattle man that transferred to Los Angeles about eight years ago. He had dark brown hair that was often neatly combed backwards, and a sharp dragon-like glare matched only by his wit.

He was a good partner when working a case, since he could look at someone during interrogation and appear to be looking right into the person's soul. He was also her preference for working this particular case as well, since he knew how it felt to work the homicide of someone close; a friend of his had been murdered here in Los Angeles and he requested a transfer specifically to work her homicide.

An unusual request, but the Captain at the time admired his determination and let him work alongside the detectives here. He proved himself in helping to solve the case quickly, and earned himself a spot with the team.

"How much coffee have you had?" Jade looked up from the papers on her desk and frowned at the man before her. Fred's head was tilted and his right arm was up, holding his blazer over his shoulder, and his eyebrows were raised. "You look like hell worn over."

"I've been up all night, working a double homicide." She turned the photograph towards him and pulled her hand from the frame. "The Vega case that went cold. I'm reopening it, but starting from scratch." Freddie's eyebrows continued their ascension on his forehead and he walked towards his desk to put his jacket on the back of his chair.

"I wondered when you'd finally start working that again. I know you're fairly close to it." She would have to take a backseat on a few things, but that didn't mean she couldn't investigate. "What do you have so far?"

"A list of potential suspects, no murder weapon or DNA." There were no prints left at the scene of the crime, nor was there evidence of sexual assault one either victim. "The only seminal fluid found was on Katrina, but Jason acknowledges that the two of them had sex at some point during that night."

She let out a heavy sigh and scratched her forehead before dropping her hand furiously onto the desk. "Original investigators considered robbery gone wrong, but there was no evidence of anything taken from the victims' apartment."

Freddie took a seat and brought his hand up to his chin, looping his index finger over the bulge under his lip. "Straightforward assassination, then?" He'd seen the case files for himself in the past, so he knew what the photos were. "Someone had it out for one of the sisters."

"Or both. I'm not sure." She glanced at his desk and pointed to the paperwork. "Have you finished your recent case?" He looked at the papers and shrugged once.

"Wife takes out life insurance policy on husband and poisons him." He turned his swivel chair towards the desk and grabbed a pen from the pencil holder beside his desk lamp. "I swear, whatever happened to just getting a divorce or working on the marriage?"

"There would be a lot less murders if insurance companies just stopped putting 'accidental death' on life insurance policies." Money was a determining factor, and for some reason, there were people who were willing to kill someone they may have once loved for a five hundred thousand dollar policy.

She scratched behind her ear and reclined in her chair. "We recently took out one of those policies for ourselves." Freddie nodded and turned his eyes up to the office doors.

"You almost have to when in our line of work. If something were to happen, you'd want to have something to take care of your family."

This was true, although she had the accidental death policy included on hers. It was odd, but not something she cared to think about. With all the life insurance murders, it was easy to become paranoid. "Speaking of family, how are they, Jade?"

"They're doing well." Vanessa was making straight A's in school. Her son, Ryan, was just ten years old and participated in the little leagues baseball. "I'm thinking of taking Ryan out of the kids baseball league though."

"Why?"

"He needs to focus on school. His grades aren't doing as well as they should be, and I told him if he doesn't get them up that he's going to have to quit his team."

Freddie's lips formed a circle and he peered down at his desk, shaking his head once. "I can understand that. Not too sure what I would do in that case." Family was a rough topic for him, since he never married and lost his mother some time ago. He would oftentimes joke about living vicariously through her family.

He brought his head up and snapped his fingers. "Alright, let's take a look at your case. You said you're not very far in it?" He rolled his chair over to her desk and she looked down at the document.

"I'm worried this will end up a primarily circumstantial case."

"It's sixteen years old, it probably will." She frowned as he pulled the documents towards him. "If that's the case, the best thing to get is a confession, but even that's going to be hard without a primary suspect."

A knot formed in her chest and she closed her eyes. "Right." She hoped to at least find the murder weapon—such evidence would be key to solving this case. The only problem is the chances of finding the weapon after all these years was slim. "Now, investigators in the past have ruled out suspects, but I want to rule them out again for my own records."

"Don't forget the key factor in working cold cases, Jade." She raised an eyebrow as Freddie looked up from the paperwork. "Stories change after several years. Let's talk to witnesses and see if any statements are consistent. A person telling the truth remembers the truth, their story doesn't often change. A fabricated story will be inconsistent due to some elements of it being forgotten over the years."

"Okay."

"Now, since you're starting over again, let's check the people closest to the victims."

When working a homicide, it was always important to start with those closest to the victim. They could know something about the victim that may help further the investigation.

"Now might be a good time to talk to Jason Tyler. Rachel is at school, so she doesn't have to be there when we talk to him." It was a good move in her mind. It would be difficult enough to open the old wound for Jason, so she didn't want to subject Rachel to that.

Freddie held up Jason's profile and scratched under his chin while examining the page. "Fiancé of on victim. Let's see what he knows. No need to bring him down to the station unless there's reason to question him."

They arrived a short time later at Jason's home, and the man was happy to discuss the case with them. She didn't notice any hesitation or nervousness, just grief and a desire to see this murder solved.

"I was wondering when you would look into it again." Jason sat on his brown couch, with them in a couple computer chairs they pulled up in front of him. His back was against the couch, his hands were folded in his lap and his body relaxed despite ancient anguish in his eyes.

"First we want to thank you for talking to us," Jade said with a friendly smile. She watched him smile back, though the look in his eyes did not change. He was afraid, fearful that the murder of his soon to be wife and sister in law may never be solved. "I don't want you to give up hope, Jason, but we do need to know what happened that night. To clear you."

"I understand." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Before leaving for work, Trina and I were talking to Tori about putting her name on the lease for the apartment so she could stay there. We were going to move in a few weeks, find our own place to raise Rachel after the wedding."

Jade wrote down the information while Freddie followed along with the original statement Jason had given. As she glanced to her partner, she didn't notice any signs that would indicate his spotting a discrepancy.

"Okay Jason. You left for work around what time?"

His eyelids opened and his lips pulled into a thin line. "Around eleven-thirty, I believe. I kissed Trina goodnight and passed Tori on the couch. She was watching some show…" He squinted and brought his hand to his chin. "_Melissa and Joey_, I think. She loved that show."

Jade looked at Freddie once more and he approved the statement with a nod. Satisfied by this, she continued to listen to Jason's statement. Tears were welling up in his eyes and he was beginning to shake, so she reached over and pat him on the knee.

"Take your time. I know it's hard."

Jason closed his hands and cleared his throat. "I…never saw them again. I was done with college, I was working two jobs to support Trina, Rachel and her sister while trying to focus on finding work in a long term career." He moved his hand over his mouth and a single choked sob left his mouth. "I didn't want her to have to juggle college, a job and raising our daughter. So I took the extra load. I should have, I shouldn't-I should have been there."

She leaned over to read the statement in Freddie's hand, giving Jason some time to regain his composure. It was hard for her to see him in such shape, and wanted to break down with her, but she'd seen this so many times before that she was almost hardened to it.

It was never easy talking to a victim's family. She dreaded the task because no matter how many times she had to talk to family in a murder investigation, it never got any easier.

"I know it isn't easy," Freddie said plainly, "But I'm going to have to ask you, Mr. Tyler." Jason met Freddie's eyes and took another deep breath. "In your original statement, you were at work all night? Is that accurate?"

"Yes. The general manager at the time can confirm it. Doug Anderson, he was there for the entire shift. Also we took a break to eat, I went to the gas station with my coworker, Tony Madison. It was a Quik-Trip, and I bought a sandwich."

"We'll contact them to be sure." Freddie lowered the folder to his lap and looked with reassurance at Jason. "You're not a suspect just yet, but can you think of anyone that might want to harm your fiancé or her sister. Also, what was your relationship like with the victims?"

"Trina and I were your standard couple, I guess." Jason ran his hand over his neck and his lips tightened together. "We had a normal relationship. We argued maybe, but nothing more than your average disagreement, nothing major. We loved each other, she was my world, my life." He brought his hand down and his eyebrows pushed up a wrinkle between them. His glossy eyes were quivering and his breathing had become difficult.

"And Victoria?"

"I worked two jobs at the time, so I didn't see much of her, but she treated me like a brother when we did talk. She was always nice, always asking what I thought about various topics."

"So you two had a fairly good relationship as well."

"Yes. As for enemies, I can't think of many people that would want to…want to go so far as to kill them. I know they had people that they disagreed with, like their parents. They were estranged from them, trying to get out of a bad situation."

"And what was that situation like?" Jade asked. Jason gave her a confused look, then hunched himself forward. "It's protocol, I have to ask." He bent his forearms up on his knees and clasped his hands together beneath the tip of his nose.

"I understand. You remember what that was like, but for investigation purposes…"

"Yes." Trina and Tori had a volatile relationship with their parents, as of Tori's graduation. All the negligence and absence from their lives finally boiled over and the girls were sick of it.

"They fought a lot in the last year of their life. Mr. Vega was a workaholic and Mrs. Vega was caught up in an affair with his partner at work, Gary Malone. That said, they'd been absent from their daughters lives, so there were a lot of fights over them not taking enough of an interest. Trina moved in with me, and Tori followed soon after."

"You don't think that would be enough to upset either Mr. or Mrs. Vega to murder?"

"I wouldn't think so, but I know Mr. Vega had a violent tendency. Not towards the girls, but he did almost kill one of Trina's exes." Jade's heart stopped and she exchanged a look of surprise with Freddie.

"An absent father would attack one of his daughter's exes? Why?"

That's when Jason's demeanor changed from grief. His eyes narrowed and a snarl stretched on his lips as he spoke a name like it were poison. "Samuel Ross." She didn't recognize the name herself, which meant this was something that Tori would never have told her about.

"You don't sound too happy with the guy, yourself."

"Now that I think about it. If anyone had something to do with Trina's death, he might have." Jason dropped his hands to his knees and let his shoulders fall sharply. "Trina dated a lot of bad guys but he was one of the worst. Just that David attacked him should give you an idea of how bad he was…"

"Okay. When did she date this man?"

"When she was fourteen or fifteen. He…" Jade could feel the tension in the air growing thicker as the man tried to recall his memories. Out of her own concern for him, she wanted to ask him to stop if he wasn't comfortable, but per the investigation, she needed to know everything.

"Again, take your time, Jason."

Jason grabbed his water bottle from the end table and started drinking it, gulping down half the bottle before bringing it to his leg. "Sorry." She reassured him with a hand wave and flashed a friendly smile. "Ross, Mitchell and Marcus. Those are the three worst boyfriends that she had. Mitchell stalked her when she was about thirteen, and Marcus abused her when she was about sixteen. Ross…forced himself on her…"

Jade painstakingly wrote down his words. There was a tremor in her hand and a rush of anger that was spiraling out of control within her, but she held her tongue and did her best to push down this grievance.

Investigators didn't look at these three men, but she could see why. Their involvement in the life of the victims was so long ago that there didn't appear to be any motive or reason. However, it was still a possibility and they would have to look into these three.

"Jason, I'm sorry. Can you think of why these men might want to hurt Trina and her sister?" He looked at her as though what she just said was the craziest thing in the world, then he answered with a heavily deep voice.

"Because they hurt her once before. Trina told me she received threats from them in the past." He set the bottle back to the end table and crossed his arms. "Tori, I don't know why they'd want to hurt her. That guy she dated once? Daniel? It's possible he had something to do with it."

She wrote down the name, chuckling to herself at recognizing who the man was. Danny was the one that cheated on Tori once before, then got between her and Cat, playing the girls.

He didn't seem like a killer, but she'd come to learn something over the years on the force: Every single human being on the planet was capable of murder or crime in general. All it took was a desire, greed, envy, or something to click in their mind to make them willing to commit a crime.

"Okay Jason. One more question." She lowered her pen to the paper and inhaled slowly. "Is it possible that they could have been targeted by one of their father's enemies? Being the child of a police officer can be difficult…"

"You'd have to ask the man himself. I wouldn't know. Rachel keeps in touch with him more than I do these days." It made sense, Jason never wanted to keep his daughter from her grandparents, no matter how much he may not have cared for them "Another thing, Tori said she was upset about something that night, but I don't know what it was all about and Trina didn't know the details yet either, she might have told Ian when she talked to him on the phone."

"We'll keep that in mind."

Jason snapped his fingers and pointed hastily at her notes. "Oh and that Shapiro guy." She raised her eyebrows and wrote down Robbie's name. Even the prior investigators had named Robbie as the closest to a suspect, but they were unable to tie him to the crime scene. "He was a creepy little bastard, and still showed up at the apartment."

"Hold on." She lifted her pen an inch from the page and her jaw fell open partially and she saw Freddie glance at her. "He actually showed up at your apartment? Was this after the girls moved there?"

"Yeah." She remembered that Tori wanted nothing more to do with Robbie when she moved, primarily because he admitted to her that he was the one that cut the cord on Trina's harness in that high school play, thereby endangering her life. "He kept coming by, asking them to forgive him. Seemed a desperate little thing, too. I told him to stop showing up or I'd get a restraining order on his ass."

It was a red flag for sure, and it hit her with a great deal of shock. Robbie always told them he left Tori alone after she cut him off. "Make a note, Freddie." Freddie's right eyebrow arched up and Jade pointed to the file in his lap. "Robbie insisted to my husband back in the day, along with myself, that he wasn't bothering Tori. He lied."

Freddie scribbled down in his notepad and started to chuckle. "Notation marked." He lifted his pen and studied the folder for a minute. Jade could see the gears turning in his head. "Tori's boyfriend. Is there any reason to talk to him at this point?"

"Only to clear him and rule him out as a potential suspect." She looked back to Jason, considering how much of Ian this man knew. "What can you tell us about Tori's boyfriend?" Jason shrugged and moved his hands behind his head.

"He was a good guy, cared the world about her. He stayed at Sherwood when she went to Hollywood Arts, from what I understand. They stopped talking for a while until she sought him out, then they started dating. They got along well, and I never heard anything about major disagreements between them. That said, he never seemed like the type of person who would hurt somebody he cared about."

"He was in Sacramento at the time, correct?"

"Yes. An old friend of his located him and asked him for a visit, so he left that weekend. He wasn't going to be back in town for another two or three days, but came back when I called him up. Poor guy was distraught."

"Okay." She had all that she felt she needed. Jade stood up with Freddie and reached out to shake Jason's hand. He returned the gesture and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Thank you for your cooperation, Jason. We'll let you know if we need anything more."

Jason took in a shaky breath of air and spoke softly. "Yeah." He tucked his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes. "You find the son of a bitch that took them, and you tell him he'd better be glad I don't find him and tear into him myself."

Jade put her hand to his shoulder and felt his tense muscles loosen. "I will. Just keep looking after Rachel, that's all you can do right now." He needed to live his life, but he'd been so distraught over the years that she felt the only way to put him back on track was to find out who did this.

Now she was armed with some fresh information and names that hadn't come to light in the past. It was a good start, but she still would have to figure out motive and connect any suspect to the crime.

* * *

><p>So what are your thoughts? Jade has been given some more names, and information that prior investigators didn't get. Do you have any thoughts on suspects or motives? If so, what are they? I want to know who you think, at this point, that it could be and why the girls might have been targeted. Also, which one do you think was the initial target? That could make all the difference, if one of the girls or both were targeted.<p> 


	4. Surrogate Mother

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 (A Surrogate Mother)<p>

Jade parked at the high school Rachel attended and hurried to the front doors. She'd been called by the principal and told the girl ended up getting into a fight of some sort, and that Rachel personally requested they contact Jade rather than her father.

The school usually tried to get ahold of her if they could, anyhow, since she often handled these things.

As she entered the office, the room was spinning due to the level of stress and concern she had. While she knew Rachel had been acting up lately, this was the first time she was ever told the girl was involved in a fight.

Rachel was sitting in the chair outside the principal's office. Her head was bowed so that her hair covered her face, and her hands were positioned in her lap, with her fingers curling over each other. "Rachel!" Jade pulled her purse strap up over her shoulder and rushed to the wide-eyed girl.

She put her hands to the teenager's shoulders and searched her eyes. There was a panicked expression mixed with anger. "Tell me you were just caught up in somebody else's fight and you weren't directly involved." Her heart was pounding in her chest, fueling mad adrenaline through her veins.

Rachel's eyebrows curled up in the middle and her lower lip pouted out. She had puffy red sacs beneath her eyes and a bright red mark on her right cheek. She averted her eyes and dropped her head back down.

"Rachel…"

"They made a comment about my momma." Her heart sank as the girl's body started to tremble. She groomed Rachel's hair back and smiled sadly as the teenager shrugged. "They said I was so ugly that my momma probably abandoned me and that was why my dad was alone." Rachel's voice choked and her hands clenched into fists.

Jade exhaled and pulled Rachel into a hug. Her eyes darted to the office window and she narrowed her eyes at a group of cheerleaders watching from outside. "Who said this to you?"

"Terry. She's the bitch in charge of the cheerleaders. She hates me for whatever reason. I told her my mom was murdered, and she asked me who did it, and I said I didn't know because it was unsolved. So she said the police probably didn't care…and I hit her."

Trina would be proud, and Jade was immensely proud. While at the same time, she didn't want Rachel to do things that would get her into trouble. Fights at school were definitely something that would cause problems.

She would have done the same thing, and even now, she was growing especially angry at this Terry person. "While that girl has no business and doesn't know anything about your mother or your aunt, you shouldn't be getting into fights."

"She deserved it!"

Jade let a chuckle slip and carefully pushed some of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "You know what?" Rachel's almond shaped eyes peered into hers, and her thin eyebrows rose like two mountains on her forehead.

She brought her hand down to the teenager's right cheek, carefully caressing the spot where it seemed the girl had been struck. "What?"

"You look just like your mother, and you've grown up to be someone I think she would be very proud of. I don't know that she would want you getting into fights. Do you?"

"No, but Terry still deserved it."

"Well. You tell Miss Terry that while your birth mom may not be around, you have someone who cares about you just the same that works in homicide." Rachel's mouth curved up and her eyes glistened with pride.

"Mrs. Oliver?" Jade looked over her shoulder and stood erect when she spotted Principal Jim Bannister. He was a sharp-nosed man in his fifties and had a full head of dark grey hair. "It's good of you to come."

"How much trouble are we talking? I don't want Rachel to have to run the risk of suspension. She's had bad enough happen in her life." The principal let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes.

"Nothing like that at this point. It's really the first time she's even been involved in a fight like this." Principal Bannister was usually understanding. He was already trying to do what he could to help Rachel get more involved in the school, suggesting extracurricular activities and any help with bringing up her grades. He knew how difficult things were for her, but even Jade figured that generosity could only be stretched so far.

A sly smirk spread on the man's face and his arms crossed over his chest. "Students _say_ they saw Terry throw the first punch. She's known to stir up trouble." He paused to look at Rachel, then exhaled. "It was only a matter of time before she rubbed someone the wrong way. If you'll come into my office, Mrs. Oliver."

"Yes sir." Jade started to follow him, then stopped in the doorway to point at Rachel. "Don't go anywhere." Rachel threw her hands up as if to ask where she could run to.

She closed the door behind her and sighed as Principal Bannister walked around his desk and stood before his red leather chair. "Now it's my understanding Mrs. Oliver, that you were a bit of a 'problem-starter' when you were younger." She brought her hand up to her purse strap, holding onto it and pursed her lips as the man's jowls seemed to intensify.

"I um, I won't deny that."

"I do understand you've taken Miss Tyler under your wing as a result of her mother's passing, but I do hope that she's not picking up any negative behaviors from you. She lives with her father, correct?"

"Yes, I do not have custody of her." She walked towards the chair in front of his desk and slowly removed her purse. "She isn't my child, obviously. All the same, I look at her like a daughter, and I certainly don't want her to make the same mistakes and choices I did when I was younger."

"Good. You understand my concern though, after seeing that she was involved in a fight."

"I'll try and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Mr. Bannister paced to the right and his fingertips slid along his desk. As Jade watched the action, she felt a shiver creeping down her spine. "I understand she suffers from depression, she has recently started talking to the school counselor, but she cannot keep getting into trouble and use her mother's murder as an excuse."

"I don't think she intends that." She folded her hands over the bottom of her shirt and struggled not to roll her eyes or do anything that might give away her annoyance. The man likely didn't mean anything negative by the statement, but she couldn't stand the nagging feeling of someone downplaying the murder of her friends.

"I agree with you. It's difficult for a child to grow up without her mother, and I think it's a good thing that you are there to try and fill that void."

"I can never replace her mother though, she understands that." Even still, she had her own family to take care of and couldn't always be there for her. "Unfortunately her father hasn't been ready to move on and start dating again. As good as I think that would be for the two of them, and Rachel wants her father to start dating again, I don't think she's really ready to accept what that would mean."

"What do you think that would mean?"

"Her mother was murdered when she was a baby." Jade crossed her arms and glanced over her shoulder. The clear glass on the door revealed a curious teenage face behind it, peering in. Rachel's head shot out of view the minute her eyes fell onto her. "She's attached to me, and has never known her real mom. For Jason to date, it means someone else would be that mother figure she needs, but she might not accept it. I didn't when I was a girl."

"Come again?"

"My father divorced when I was in my preteens, then remarried a couple years later. I never grew close to my stepmom until I started college."

It was a different situation altogether than what Rachel would have to suffer through, and she understood that. The problem was Rachel clung to her as that mother figure, and in Rachel's eyes, Jade _was_ the mother, and any other woman that came in might cause some extra stress.

"While it is not my place, I feel compelled to ask." Her eyebrows rose and she smiled vaguely. "Are you more concerned that Rachel would feel like someone is replacing her mother, or are you more concerned that somebody else would take your place?"

In that moment, a dead silence came over them and she felt herself at a loss for air while peering into the principal's eyes. She didn't understand what kind of question that was for a mother of two who practically raised a third child on the side, but she had to admit he was right; she was terrified of being pushed out and had grown complacent with the thought that Jason would never want to date again.

"You see, Mrs. Oliver." Mr. Bannister sat down and clasped his hands on the surface of his desk. His grey moustache bristles were pressed down by a gentle breeze from his nose, and the tip of his tongue licked the corner of his lips for a brief second. "We both want the same thing, and I'm certain her father does too: A stable life for Rachel."

"Yes. Of course."

"But surely you must understand how confusing it is on the child. She has grown up not seeing a true, healthy relationship between a man and woman. A father who has no wife, and a surrogate mother that she sees…how many times?" His right hand rose and fell like a flag waving in the air.

A cold sweat formed at her neck and she brought her hand up to her forehead, groaning as her heart started to pound. "I see her every few weeks. Always have."

"Could it be that Rachel's acting out might be connected to that confusion? You have your own children as well, do you not? What do they think?"

"They think of Rachel as family of course."

The man leaned to the right and brought right hand up to his face. His forefinger tapped his right cheekbone, then slid down to his chin. "But does your concern to take care of Rachel ever get in the way of parenting your own children?" The man looked towards the door and started to frown. "She requests we contact you instead of her father should she get into any sort of trouble, even lists you as her emergency contact. This takes away from the one that is actually her parent."

"I just…" Her eyelids clenched shut as she recalled the vivid memories of entering that apartment and finding Rachel alone in the crib. The smell of soiled diapers was as vivid now as though she'd entered that room just the day before. "I found her mother and aunt, Mr. Bannister. I've taken care of her, I've been that person."

The man raised his hands and smiled reassuringly. "I apologize first off, I'm not trying to step on any toes." She nodded and looked down at her black leather purse. "I'm only suggesting that you be careful. It is very possible for one or both of you to get too attached to something that isn't completely real, and for that to cause problems."

She held her breath as his voice became more stern and thicker in tone. "You are not her mother, and raising her is not your responsibility." He motioned at her with his finger, and she averted her eyes. "Should that man find somebody to bring into his life, that fact and your connection to that family could cause many problems for everyone involved. I would like not to see either Rachel or yourself hurt because of this."

It wasn't as though he was suggesting she detach from them, he was concerned for the wellbeing of those involved. "I appreciate your concern." The man not only had a point, but he was right, and it terrified her. She knew how close she'd become to Rachel, and even to Jason, enough that she had grown complacent with the fact that Jason didn't seem to want to move on with another woman in his life.

Rachel deserved a real mother, someone that could be there for her twenty-four seven, not just a mother that saw her only when she wasn't busy with her real family.

Not only was it unfair to both her family and Rachel, it was exactly the issue she remembered Tori and Trina struggling with when they still lived with their parents.

"Go ahead and take Miss Tyler home, Jade. I'd like for her to finish the day out, but I'm not certain it's wise with all the tension going on today." She stood up and returned her purse strap to her arm. She flashed a vague smile his way and turned her back to him.

"Thank you." Tears welled up in her eyes and she approached the door with a heart that had been broken by the harsh reality of her situation.

She remained silent until she and Rachel were in the car, but was aware of the girl's looks the walk there. Once in the car, Rachel finally spoke up, asking the question Jade already saw on her mind.

"Why are you upset? What did Mr. Bannister say?"

"It's nothing to worry about." She swallowed a sharp breath of air and held back a sob, then turned towards the girl. "I…want to ask you something." Rachel's brow furrowed and her lips pursed.

"Okay."

"You know that I'm not your real mother, that much is clear, and you also know there's nothing more than friendship between myself and your father."

Rachel's eyebrow rose and she started to nod. "Of course I get that. What's wrong?"

"I just want to make sure if your father ever finds someone-"

When Rachel hugged her, she stopped and smiled pleasantly at the girl. "Hey, I'm old enough to know different. I'll always look at you like a mother figure, but I know you're not my mom." She let out a chuckle and Rachel leaned back into her chair. The sensation of the hug was left behind like a warm coat on her body. "If Dad finds someone, she'll be my stepmom. I know. I'll try to be on good terms with her; I don't want to be one of those trouble teens you see on television that absolutely hate their stepparent."

"It might mean I'll have to back off a little bit, Rachel. If that happens…" She wasn't about to be accused of being the other woman in a nonexistent affair.

Rachel pat Jade on the knee and looked into her eyes. "I hope you would still be a part of our lives. Even if Dad ever found someone, I wouldn't want you to just disappear. You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Her heart rose and swelled with joy as Rachel continued to study her. "No," she breathed. She then reached over and hugged the girl's neck. "No, I couldn't do that."

It might not be that simple, especially if Jason ever found someone that didn't understand how important she was to them and vice versa. Secretly she hoped that time would never come, but knew that it would be for the best if it did.

After all, Rachel needed a full time mother and not a substitute, just like Jason needed a wife that she couldn't be. Some other woman would have to take care of that family one day, and it was painful to even consider.

* * *

><p>Well, it's good that Jade is close to the family. What do you think about what the principal pointed out? Could he be right? It's a slight step from the cold case, but we do need to have these outside moments.<p> 


	5. The Detective's Family

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 5 (The Detective's Family)<p>

"Jade?" Her office door scraped the floor as it slid open, drawing her attention away from the folder on her desk. Half of her husband's body was pushing its way into the open crevice, and the loving smile on his face warmed her. "Sweetheart, why don't you come out?"

"I can't. I'm busy." Her body was leaning to the right and her hand was pushed beneath her brown hair. She looked at herself in the wall mirror to her right, chuckling at the tired image peering back at her.

The hair that she usually kept neatly groomed and now was cut down to half an inch above her shoulders, was now a mass of bed hair. She also had circles beneath her eyes and frown lines that had begun to frame her lips.

"You haven't slept in days, love." Beck sauntered over to her and moved behind her. She reclined her head as his fingers slid across her shoulders and brushed up against the curvature of her neck. "Can I distract you from this case, if only for a moment?"

Her eyes closed over and she felt her body rise as the sensation of his gentle massage overtook her as an ocean wave overtakes the shores of a beach. "I have to work, honey. You know I have to." She opened her eyes partially and was sure she could see the sisters standing in the center of the room on top of her red, circular rug.

To her, their arms were crossed and their imagined bodies rigid. In their eyes was an inexplicable anger meshed with deep sorrow.

She did not see ghosts, or anything of the nature, but this was something that came for every detective working homicide. A case that was close to them, the investigator may imagine the victim looking on, waiting for their murder to be solved. A reminder to not forget.

"Vanessa is off shopping with Rachel, and Ryan is at the park down the street. We have the house to ourselves." His hand moved down her arm, then lifted hers up from the desk.

Jade looked into his eyes and felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he knelt onto one knee and started to kiss her hand. Beck was always a cheesy romantic, even after all these years of marriage.

"You've got a lot on your mind as is, Jade, so why not take some time off. Watch a movie with me? Front room, and you know I've got a large flat screen." He curled his lips into a smirk and wagged his eyebrows at her. "We could cuddle up together, watch a show and make a little love."

Her free hand moved down to her chest, as though grasping for the object now crashing into her ribs. "Beck, there's no need to be such a romantic." He laughed once, then brought his forehead down against the top of her hand.

"You may be my wife, but that doesn't mean I won't stop courting you." She couldn't bring herself to tell him no, that she was far too busy to work. In her heart, she wanted to take a break, but was afraid to linger outside of this case. As her eyes drifted to the folder, Beck placed a hand on top of it. "You will solve their murder when you solve it. Spend some time with your family, while we're still alive."

Her eyebrow rose and her stomach twisted at the joke. "Funny." Beck was simply being silly, but at the root of it, he never took well to being turned away and told no by someone.

In fact, in their teenage days before they dated and throughout their relationship, Beck was always accustomed to getting what he wanted and gaining the attention of women. If a woman made an advance on him, it wasn't as if he told them he was taken—though he was often shocked when they didn't respond to his advances, which was why he pursued her so strongly before they first got together.

Yet, it was that same love of attention that caused their final breakup; he cheated on her with a woman that made a move on him.

While the self-love was a trait she found cute in high school, as an adult working in homicide, she knew it was a trait that could evolve if never put in check. Fortunately for her, it never had, and he decided to propose to her when she told him that if he wanted her, he had to focus on her and not getting what he wanted from other people.

Jade lifted a finger in front of him and curled her lips into a subtle smirk. "One movie. Then I need to get back to work. Tori and Trina won't wait forever." He smiled back at her and rose to his feet, then gave her hand a gentle tug.

"Of course. I do hope they don't mind me borrowing my wife for just a bit?" She laughed once and let him guide her away from the security of her desk and office.

On the couch, Jade happily cuddled up on the left side of her husband. Her hand came to rest on his stomach and her head was on his shoulder and pushing into the indent of his neck. She had her legs bent up behind her, and Beck's arm was around her shoulders.

One movie turned into two, and then two translated into their remaining in place for hours. "It feels nice," she whispered softly, "Being here like this." He hugged her with his one arm and gently kissed the top of her head. The kiss sparked off on that spot and shot down to her heart like hot lightning racing through her. She leaned up, kissing him full on the lips, taking in the passion of the moment.

It had truly been a long time since the two of them were intimate, so to be able to lose herself in his arms like this was something of a treasure for her.

His arms slid around her and she felt his hands close over her back. Beck's arms tensed and pulled her closer to his body. She let herself go, relaxing in his embrace.

Their embrace led to the bedroom where he hastily removed her clothes and tossed her police issued forty caliber Smith and Wesson into the gun drawer along with Beck's 9mm Beretta that he obtained from his father. Both of them kept guns in the house for protection; a necessary step for a homicide detective.

She disrobed and found herself falling on top of him on the bed, arching her body as she kissed him with a powerful sensation. She yearned for this moment, longed for it for what felt like years.

It was unknown to her how she could have let time get away from her, but it was good to know the passion was still there. As Jade crawled along his body, eyeing his tender lips like a predator on its mark, she slid her own mouth into a smirk and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.

Afterwards, she was trying to cook dinner with her daughter and maintain a conversation with the girl, but Vanessa could hardly look her in the eyes. This bothered her greatly, but she didn't bring it up because she figured the girl was simply being a teenager.

"So…" Vanessa stood with her back turned to her, and was busy slicing an onion. "You and Dad." The color flushed from Jade's face and she smiled nervously at her daughter's back.

The short-haired brunette was always intuitive for a fourteen year old. From an early age, she knew a lot more than what girls her age should have known. This wasn't a problem, until Vanessa ended up bringing up awkward conversations.

The teenager ran a rag over the knife, sweeping off the last remnants of the onion, then turned towards Jade. Vanessa stood nearly an inch above her, and had her father's eyes. Wherever she inherited her height from, Jade wasn't sure, she always joked about the child potentially growing to be the tallest person in the family.

"Finally went at it again?" Vanessa curled her lip into a subtle smirk. Jade caught her breath in her throat and raised her eyebrows at her daughter. The girl leaned to the right and threw her thumb over her shoulder. "I just got home like an hour ago and wanted to talk to you about something…I regret not knocking. Some things cannot be unseen."

She moved her hand over her mouth, stifling a smile. "I'm sorry, honey." Vanessa pulled her hands up to her hips and shook her head. Her nose crinkled, then her lips embedded in her cheeks.

"I guess it's nice to see. How long has it been? Five, six years?" Jade rolled her head to the right and squinted her eyes. As much as she admired her daughter's standard forward demeanor, she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the idea of discussing sex with her

"Long enough, dear." For some reason the passion had been hard to obtain and hold onto. Ever since the murders, she'd been disconnected from him. Occasionally they had their moments, but it was a struggle to get to where they are at now. Some days he'd be cold and distant, then some days it was her. After all, the murders affected everybody. "What did you want to talk about?"

Vanessa's lips parted and her hand reached up to her neck. "Oh. I almost forgot about that." Jade smiled at her. "Well, Rachel and I were talking about what we knew regarding her mom and aunt and then started wondering about all the others."

"'Others'?"

"You know, your other friends."

She let out a dismayed sigh and bowed her head. "Oh." It wasn't an easy topic to discuss. Jade hadn't kept in touch with them, and neither did Beck. After the murders, everyone went their own ways. "Sometimes people just go away, honey. Friendships might fade over time." Vanessa's curious smile fell and she looked to the counter with a sudden glint in her eyes.

"I hope that doesn't happen to me. I mean like, Rachel's one of my best friends. She's like a sister to me and to Ryan. Practically is."

"Well, you have known the girl most of your life, sweetheart." Sensing her daughter's distress, she walked up and hugged her from behind. "I don't believe it will happen with you. Who knows what the future has in store."

Vanessa's head reclined and her body leaned forward as she pushed her hands onto the counter. "Why did you guys separate then, momma?" Her eyes fell and she pressed her lips so tightly that thin lines began to stretch out.

"I wish it were so simple." The teenager turned around and hummed. Jade drew her eyes up to her child's inquisitive gaze, but every muscle in her face was tense with sorrow. "Everybody has their own path in life, and some people go their own way."

"That's a copout, mom."

"Vanessa."

"It is!" Vanessa pulled away from her and started to wash her hands under the sink faucet. "You could have kept in touch if you wanted to. Look at Rachel and her dad. You've practically raised her, you've kept in touch with them all these years."

Her arms fell to the sides and she chuckled to herself. "No, you're right. I could have made more of an effort." She didn't know what truly happened, but she still remembered the order that each of her friends essentially dropped off the planet.

"Andre was the first to go away. He was a good man, but after what happened to Trina and Tori, he was just shaken." She pressed the back of her waist to the counter and looked towards the ceiling. Her eyes glazed over as tears started to form and her heart started to burn at the memory. "He became so distant and detached that he stopped coming around. Last I heard, he and his grandmother moved to live with an aunt of his in Louisiana."

"Wow."

She would be honest with her daughter, as honest as she could be. She always wanted to protect her children from the harsh realities of life, but decided from early in her marriage that this would be a bad idea; especially when they had a parent in the career she was in.

"Robbie, I can't say much about." Because he was a suspect in the murder case, even today, she wasn't allowed to share that information. The fact that he was a suspect caused a lot of accusations to fall on him, and an irreversible rift grew between with the man, Beck, and Jade. "Things grew so bad that he just left. He wanted to be a ventriloquist back in the day, I think he owns a puppet store somewhere in southern California."

Vanessa frowned at her and slowly walked towards the oven. Jade watched her daughter closely, breathing in as the teenager carefully checked on the food that was cooking.

Perhaps she was using this as a means of distraction, for the worst had yet to come. After several prolonged moments, Vanessa straightened herself and turned a somber gaze onto her.

"What about Cat? I thought you two were the best of friends."

Pain struck her heart like a knife and the memory of a devastated girl flashed into her head, nearly crippling her. "She was one of my closest friends. Closer than any of the guys." Cat always had problems both emotionally and mentally, and that was before the murders ever took place. "She lost a lot of people who were close to her."

Her forehead creased and her hands tensed as she placed them over each other in front of her waist. Jade dropped her gaze to her feet and crossed her legs slowly. "She was close to Tori as well, and even struck up a friendship with Trina." Vanessa smiled sadly and took a small step towards her.

"So what happened?"

"Beck and I tried to be there for her, to console her." Cat had two brothers, the younger was the one with the greater mental issues while the older was the one that had been overseas. "Cat lost her older brother the day he was supposed to come home from war. Her grandmother passed away in her sleep…then her roommate died about eight years ago."

"That's…" Vanessa's eyebrows moved together and her hand drifted to her stomach. "Terrible." Cat's 'fate' was the only one that Jade knew for sure at this point.

The redhead tried for a year to live on her own means, but all the loss she suffered in life had been too much mental anguish for her to bear.

The last seven years, Cat spent having placed herself in a mental ward. Jade quit visiting when the girl started to say she couldn't stand the sight of her anymore due to the grief brought on by painful reminders.

"She's still around, but placed herself in a mental care facility a long time ago. She's still there, the last I checked."

There were other people from high school that she also lost touch with, such as people like Sinjin, but she was never as close to them and could say they drifted apart.

It would be important for her to find Robbie, however. After all these years, she could either clear his name or say he was involved in the murder. He always maintained his innocence, and her gut instinct seemed to say that he was.

"So no matter what happens, we'll still be close to them, mom? Rachel and her dad?" Jade smiled at her and nodded. As she recalled what the principal at Rachel's school told her, she felt an inexplicable sadness that reminded her the reality that she may be pushed aside the moment someone else entered that family's life.

"Yes Vanessa, we will always be as close as we can be." She pushed her hand along the surface of the counter and turned her head to the right. She could see Vanessa and Ryan being close no matter what, they already considered Rachel and Jason a part of the family.

It was not something she wanted or needed to focus on right now. All she wanted to concern herself with was finding the person who killed her friend and to stop worrying about something that may never come to pass.

* * *

><p>Any theories yet? She is becoming engrossed by the case, but that is to be expected. Working as a homicide detective is never easy. I want to be a detective one day, but since I have a mild case of tourettes, well, I have to go another direction. It seems upsetting how the friends drifted apart after the murders, but it almost makes sense. At least Beck and Jade have done well for themselves.<p> 


	6. Stress of the Job

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Another suspect to consider. I should probably let you guys know that Jade is in little danger-or as much danger as a typical homicide detective working a case. The case is just personal for her, obviously, so there will be drama both around the case and around her personal life. Other than that, no big dangers

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><p>Chapter 6 (Stress of the Job)<p>

Jade stepped out of the elevator with a sigh of exhaustion and heavy legs. Her purse strap was clutched in her hand, and she had bags under her eyes from staying up half the night.

She made her way towards her desk and heard the familiar sound of a woman sobbing; someone was notifying a survivor of a homicide. When she looked over, she saw a tall dark haired woman standing in front of her work partner's desk. The woman's purse was falling down her arm, and she was patting her pale face with a tissue.

Freddie was seated casually in his seat. His elbow was draped over the top, and his head was bowed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I know it isn't easy to hear. You'll find a way to move on, but if you'd like, I can give you the number of a counselor we refer victims and their survivors to." He frowned as the woman nodded her head. "It is the best, and the least, that I can do."

"I-I appreciate it." Jade crossed her arms and tilted her head to the right, watching as Freddie handed this woman a card. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn't put a name with the face.

Once the woman turned to leave, Jade approached Freddie's desk. "Notifying a victim's relative?" Freddie's eyes darted up and he leaned forward, waving his hand in the air.

"Friend. Old friend of Samantha's and mine." She jerked her head back in surprise. The man lifted his shoulders and exhaled gently. "Eight years late, I know." He reclined his chair and kicked his heels up to the edge of the desk. "Had to tell her Nora's been put in maxim security lockup for a life sentence."

"You seemed like you were less than friends." If Andre showed up one day, she wouldn't be as cold as Freddie appeared. It was as if he had ice around him. Freddie raised an eyebrow at her and stared for a few silent moments before folding his hands on his waist.

"We see death every day, we have to solve some of the hardest things for any human being to see. When you see a baby covered in blood, you never get that image out of your head." He lowered his feet to the ground and glanced at the elevator. "So we distance ourselves from it. It shouldn't make us unnaturally cold, but the job hardens us."

"I know, but that was your friend wasn't she?"

"Was is the key word." She pulled her chair from her desk and sat down next to his. Her arm rested on the edge and her lips pursed when her eyes connected with his. There was a harsh tone to them, his eyebrows had fallen flat above his sockets and his lips pressed together tightly while his nostrils opened up. "Truth be told, it's the first I've seen her in close to twenty years. Sam was murdered by Nora Dershlitt eight years ago, and Carly's just now finding out about it."

"Didn't you try to find her back then?"

"I did." Freddie crossed his arms and shook his head. "She must have changed her name, got married, or being a military daughter left her location off the grid. I shouldn't blame her for her dad, though."

"What happened?"

"Spencer had been lying to his father about money that was being sent to him for law school." Jade brought her hand up to her chest, wincing as a heaviness spread across it.

Freddie pulled the left corner of his mouth back, imbedding it in his cheeks. "He lied about going to law school, lied about what he was doing with the money. His father found out, and when Carly moved to Italy, the man cut his son out of their lives." He swept his hand through his hair and clicked his tongue. "Spence eventually went back to law school, hoping to land his dad's good graces."

"I guess that never happened?"

"No. Instead, Spencer couldn't even find out where his dad was. They must have transferred out of Italy." He turned towards his desk and pat the surface with his hands. "Samantha move to Las Angeles, Nora got out the first time and was arrested…then you remember what happened next."

Nora Dershlitt wound up being released on good behavior and probation, and then hunted Sam down. Samantha Puckett was shot at point blank range.

"Yeah, I remember the case."

"I tried to find Carly after that, but never could. Even Spencer told me not to bother. I suppose she found me through him, but just figuring it took her this long to seek either one of us out-and she wanted to check up on Sam after all this time…I don't know what to tell you."

He pulled open the drawer to his right and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. "You don't mind?" Jade smiled and waved her hand. She understood how many detectives were driven to the urge to smoke. While she didn't smoke, she wasn't the type to take offense.

The man didn't smoke often; it was rare, in fact that he ever reached for one. When stress levels were high, that was when he grabbed for them. "I am happy to see she's doing well though, I'll give her that." He put the item to his mouth and lit it up with a deep sigh. "Not so well in recent years, though. She's divorced now, apparently."

"You used to have a thing for her, didn't you? Maybe you could go after her, lord knows you could benefit from a woman in your life." He closed his lighter and glanced over, laughing once.

"It's not my style." Freddie gripped the stick with his forefinger and thumb, then pulled it an inch from his lips. "I don't need a lady to give me purpose in life. I know I'm married to my job. I can't nor do I want to have to deal with the stress of family and relationships at the same time I have to watch many torn apart by murder."

"I guess I can understand that."

"Yep." He put the cigarette stick back into his mouth and reached for the case file on his desk. When he opened it, Jade saw the suspect photo of David Vega. "Just look at this poor fool, lost his daughters to murder and became a suspect in our investigation. It's a heavy job, being a detective, even harder when it hits close to home."

Jade rolled closer to the desk and reached for the photo. "You're looking at him? Wasn't he cleared?"

"Yes." Freddie removed his cigarette and snuffed it out in the lightly used ashtray on his desk. It only burned halfway. It baffled Jade at first whenever he would only smoke half of one and throw the rest out, but she figured he had his reasons for it. "I contacted Ian Dennison for an interview, and he said we should look again at David."

Jade looked at the statement the officer gave, claiming he was at home. Beside the folder was a new sheet of paper with Freddie's handwriting on it. She pulled it towards her and Freddie glanced over.

"Ian informs me that Tori called him that night, wanting him to come home from his trip early. Someone scared her that night, but she wouldn't tell him who it was. He claims somebody showed up and threatened her, but left soon afterwards."

"I assume this information never came to light either, as Ian said investigators were so focused on either him, or Jason, that they didn't bother to ask." Jade crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. It was annoying to see the original investigators simply ignoring any other outlet.

"It isn't always the spouse, fiancé, or significant other."

"Right." He smirked and raised a finger. "And that's the reason I'm never getting married." She started to laugh, but stopped herself so she could remain focused on the investigation.

As she scanned Freddie's notes, something caught her eye. "David came by the house that night?" His eyebrows rose and he nodded firmly.

"The middle of his phone call with Tori, he heard someone banging on the door. She told him it was their father, and he was in a drunken rage. Evidently the dad and Trina went at it." Freddie grabbed another sheet of paper and pointed to a line with broken handwriting. "Also, Mr. Vega owns a 9 millimeter." Her heart grew still and her hand moved up over her mouth.

"The same as the casings found in the bedroom."

"Yep." David also lied to investigators about his whereabouts that night. This was big news, and it was a frightening consideration. How could a family man snap and kill his two children? It was something many people asked, but she'd seen it happen many times.

To this day, she couldn't answer the question. "I guess we need to pay him a visit then. Find out why he lied to investigators." Or if investigators covered something up, which at this rate, she wouldn't be too surprised. "Let's figure out why in the hell this case is on ice and not closed."

On the way to the man's home, all Jade could think about was how for sixteen years she was close to him and to Holly. She didn't want him to be the culprit, but she knew well that if he was the one, she'd arrest him in the name of justice.

Freddie parked the car alongside the curb and looked out the window at the house. "I love when they agree to meet outside the police station," he stated. She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, since witnesses and suspects at the station were more out of their element than when they were at the house. "Are you ready to go inside?"

"Not really, but I will." After this, they were going to seek out any of the boyfriends that the girls dated. Jade didn't want to make the mistake of singling out one person in an investigation and ignoring the others. "Hey Benson, we're not going to focus on one person, right?"

He turned off the car and hung his wrist over the steering wheel. "What do you mean?" She unlocked her car door and pushed it open. Her breathing grew shallow when she saw the ancient face of David Vega peering out the window.

"I mean right now we don't have a prime suspect, but even when we do have a prime suspect, we have to acknowledge that there are still other suspects to clear. The original investigators never did this."

"You mean how they focused on the fiancé and the initial boyfriend? I got it, and no, we won't do that while there are still other suspects. If we get a lead, though-"

"Then we chase that lead until we can either prove or disprove a connection."

A big part of the reason investigators wanted to focus on the fiancé and Ian was because there had been no signs of sexual assault.

Jade examined the photos over and over again just to make sure. Tori's pants were zipped up and buttoned, the legs were stretched to her heels as if she'd been wearing them in their relaxed state all day. Her shirt was undisturbed as well, with the bottom flowing around her waist.

Trina was the same way, and the original investigators stupidly questioned Jason about the seminal fluid found in his own fiancé's body. "I think those original officers wanted to close the case quickly and thought Jason or Ian would be easy."

"The daughters of a respected police officer, Jade. Of course they wanted to close the books as fast as they could."

"Proper investigation takes time. I don't care what status David had prior too, he's a suspect until we can prove otherwise." She walked with him to the door as she had numerous times before, but this time she had a different feeling.

It wasn't sadness, guilt, or a desire to maintain a friendship with two grieving parents. She separated herself from that.

With a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock, but was caught off guard when David opened the door. He no longer appeared tall as he had several years ago; his body had atrophied horribly and he was hunched forward. His hair was now near entirely gone, with small patches of silver that remained.

"Jade. Or should I say 'Detective'?" His voice wavered anxiously and his eyes seemed like dull orbs that focused on the two detectives.

"For this visit." She raised her badge and frowned deeply at the man. "Detectives Oliver and Benson will have to do. As we said over the phone, we have a few questions about your daughters' case." David blew out slowly and motioned into the house.

"Come in. I'll answer to the best of my ability. Have you gotten any closer to solving it?"

"Maybe." She followed the man inside and took a seat on the couch. The home was no different than it was sixteen years ago, but she never paid any attention to it. Stepping into the house was like stepping back into time without Tori, Trina or even Holly. Mrs. Vega separated from David some time ago and was now Mrs. Holly Malone.

"It must be difficult," Freddie said. The man stood beside the couch, holding his hands at his waist and letting his blazer hug his elbows. "Growing up without your family and having your wife marry you for the man she was having an affair with. Why would you remain in your family home, if I can ask?"

David set his hands on top of his wooden cane and shrugged. "It reminds me of what I've lost."

Jade dipped her eyes towards the ground and lowered her shoulders. "Mr. Vega, we've found some new information." new information." She glanced back at him. "A witness puts you at the victims' home that night. You're one of the last people to see them alive."

A guilty suspect would sometimes become belligerent or withdrawn, so she had to expect that to happen. Instead, David calmly turned his head and opened his mouth to speak. "I was there." His speech was rough and scratchy with age, but slow and calm. "It's true. I was there, but I did not kill my daughters."

"Why did you lie to investigators?"

"At the time, I didn't want my fellow officers to see me as drunk and violent." The lines on the elder's face intensified, and his eyebrows lifted up in the middle. Jade inhaled and looked to Freddie, waiting to see if he would say anything first. "I fought with them, it's true. I punched my eldest daughter when she told me to leave the apartment, then I left."

As she visualized the struggle, her heart began to ache. "You hit Trina? You never came forward with this?"

"I knew it would make me look bad."

"Of course it would." She clenched her teeth and moved her hands to her lap. She looked around the room and sucked in a quick breath of air. "Okay, Mr. Vega. Do you still own the weapon you had back then?"

"Which gun? I had more than one."

"We'd like all of them," Freddie announced. They didn't necessarily want to tell a potential suspect what type of weapon they were looking for, because it would be showing their cards. "We'll need to run ballistics."

David rose to his feet and sauntered over to a dresser on the other side of the room. "I've got three. A 9mm, a colt revolver, and a Browning." David removed the three after making sure they were on safety, and carried them over. "I was an officer, I knew my daughters' case as well. I know which one you're looking for, but I'll hand over all three."

There wasn't an ounce of violence or anger in this man anymore, and Jade knew well that he'd stopped drinking a very long time ago. Maybe the murders had been a wakeup call for him; she could only hope that was the case.

"Why did you confront your daughters that day, David?" He looked at her, then made his way to the recliner without a word.

When he sat, his hip made a loud popping noise. He was in a sad, pitiful state for a seventy year old man, and she always assumed it was grief that put him in this shape.

David Vega was no monster in her eyes. He was a negligent and deadbeat father wracked with guilt over his lack of being involved in his children's lives before their death.

"I was drunk as hell but I remember that night like it was a dream I had just this morning." David reclined and let his cane fall to his feet. "As a matter of fact, it was a dream I had. Every morning, every night, all I can think of…"

"David." Her eyes slanted and she watched a tremble overtake his body.

"I was angry. I couldn't stand that both my daughters left me, that my wife was considering an end to our marriage. I went to the apartment, demanding they let me talk to them…" He sat up and looked her hard in the eyes. The wrinkles on his face tightened and his lips curled inwards. "Trina wouldn't let me in the door. She kept telling me to leave the house, that neither she nor Tori wanted anything more to do with me."

"Okay." Jade grabbed her notepad from beside her and wrote down the statement. She was careful to make sure each word was recorded, knowing that any slip up could spell disaster. "Then what happened?"

"I said they were my daughters, and that I had a right to be a part of their lives. It grew worse when Tori came over-she was on the phone with somebody." He closed his eyes and brought his hand up to his mouth. Tears lined the bottom of his eyelids and his shoulders started to shake. "She was pushing the door, trying to keep me outside. I was too strong, she was small."

Once he began whimpering, Jade set her pen down and gave Freddie a concerned look. It wasn't necessary to push him right now, but to let this emotion pass over. At the very least, David was being cooperative.

"And then." He opened his mouth and breathed in loudly. "Trina said I wasn't allowed to see my grandchild. She was going to cut me off from seeing my granddaughter. I struck her, and then I left. I drove to the nearest bar, the bartender wouldn't give me anything to drink, so I went home."

"You didn't think to grab your gun and return?" Freddie asked in a sharp and cold tone. The lines around David's eyes stretched out and his eyebrows slid in tight. "Maybe you were angry, didn't want to lose the right to your grandchild, and you returned and killed them."

"Why would I shoot both of my daughters, if I was only angry at Trina? Tell me that." They could also look at the possibility of a hired hit, but that didn't make sense to Jade. An assassin's bullet targeted Tori, but if it were a hired or skilled hit, then Trina's murder would not have been as sloppy as it was. "If you are to charge me for my daughters' murder, let me know. I'll find an attorney."

"We're making no arrest yet," Jade answered. "We'll find the killer, David, but right now you are a suspect. So…don't leave town." She stood up, ready to end the interview. She looked at the man apologetically, despite the half of her that was angry with him. "I'm sorry."

"I lied to investigators, and I own a gun of the same type. I know the protocol says I'm a suspect. Where would I run to?"

He was innocent, and Jade was certain of it. She didn't know for sure, but her gut instinct told her this old man would confess out of his own pain and suffering if he had been the one to gun down his daughters in cold blood.

"It's just a thing we say, David. Thank you for your cooperation." She and Freddie started to the door. The broken man spoke one final time and Jade stopped in the doorway. She put her hand to the frame and looked over her left shoulder.

David was sitting with his body hunched forward and his cane once more in his hands. His hands were folded over the top, and his mouth was twisted into a deep scowl.

"Make no mistake, I loved my daughters. Jade, you and your partner know as well as any the stress that comes with the job. It's no excuse, it's no justification, but don't ever turn to the drink. The best relief and support you can have is your own family, your friends…I wish that I had known that sixteen plus years ago."

She flashed a sad smile and looked over to her partner. Freddie looked down to the bagged guns and smacked his lips. "Let's get these to the ballistics lab," Freddie replied with a whisper. "He's just a broken cop. Let's hope for his sake ballistics don't come back a match, I think he's already in a prison of his own doing."

"Yeah…" She stepped outside and took one last look at the decrepit figure seated inside the dark room. David was right; family and friends were the best support that a homicide detective had to keep afloat.

She even served as support for her partner, to keep him on his own two feet. David remained so disconnected from his family that maybe he thought he was protecting them from the stress, but clearly it had done more harm than good. It left him not only broken, but a man whose last memory of his children ended in violence. Whether guilty or not, he had to live with that memory

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><p>Well, what are your thoughts or theories at this point? Quite the revelation David gave, an angry and former alcoholic, but could he have truly murdered his children? Freddie may be right, the man is certainly in a prison of his own making whether guilt or non guilt is determined. (Something I've heard my professor say: there is no 'innocent', there is guilt or non-guilt. Courts do not determine innocence). Oh, and some more background on Jade's partner at the start there, since it's small, it goes without saying we won't see certain people like the dark haired woman again-whom we know the identity of. Do want to emphasize that at this point in his life he has become an independent man devoted to his work and does not need a woman in his life to give him fulfillment or purpose. Now, thoughts on the chapter? Theories? Speculations?<p> 


	7. Facing the Demons: The Dangerous One

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: I should give you a little warning ahead of time. Certain things in this chapter could potentially trigger certain emotional reactions; Jade is interrogating Samuel Ross. If you do so wish, you can skip the interrogation, though there is quite a bit of important information within.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7 (Facing the Demons)<p>

They sent the guns to the ballistics lab, but it would take time for the results to come back. There were two people that she wanted to get out of the way more than anyone in their list of suspects: Samuel Ross, and Robert Shapiro. After those two, she wanted to zero in on some of the other people that dated the girls and might have had a reason to kill one or both of them.

Trina was easy when thinking why a boyfriend of Tori's might want her dead. From what she remembered of the girl, she liked to be the center of attention at times, but she could be dangers if pissed off enough.

Much of Trina's desire to be involved in what the group was doing was out of her own overprotective tendencies towards her little sister. Robbie's stalking was known, and that was a big reason Trina was always around-always watching. The boys who may have hurt Tori when dating her also suffered greatly at Trina's hands. Any of them, if angry enough to kill Tori, would have shot Trina too given the chance.

One of the technicians was busy locating Robbie Shapiro, so Jade could focus on boyfriends of the girls in the meantime. She had a list of most of their whereabouts, but she wanted to find the most dangerous one first; and that one wasn't one of Tori's.

She stood before a prison interrogation room and smiled at the guard standing outside the door. Her heart was racing a mile a minute as she peered into the room, where a man sat at a single steel table.

This man had large arms, built up over the years of working out during incarceration . He bore a California state prison uniform and had light blonde flecks of stubble on his chin and his upper lip. His hair was cut in a buzz, and his pale blue eyes looked as though they'd seen years of violence and anger.

"Mr. Ross." The man tilted his head to the right and leaned back, raising his hands behind his head. "How are you today?"

"That some kind of joke?" Ross narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I suppose I've been worse, but I've been better as well." Jade entered the room and felt the temperature fall to icy levels.

The oxygen moved away from her and she could almost feel his cold stare like icy fingers around her neck. It was a frightening feeling for her, but considering his rap sheet, she almost wondered why she was frightened of this man.

The sexual assault charge was the most violent thing listed on his record, and he'd been treated as a juvenile at the time. What this meant was, he was put in prison for a short time and let out in three years for the crime.

Nowadays the criminal justice system was more stringent with sex offenders-as she always felt it should have been. "I see on your records, you're in for two counts of armed robbery." She took her seat across from him and dropped the folder down on the table.

Ross's eyes darted to the folder and his brow furrowed. "No shit." He had a groggy voice, and an air about him that suggested a great deal of anger was held within him. This wasn't a great surprise as he did have multiple marks of battery charges against fellow prisoners. "Slapped eighteen years, and up for parole soon."

"Then let's get right to what I'm here for. Where were you December 13th, 2013 at approximately three in the morning?" He jerked back and his right eyebrow rose.

Jade looked towards the right and cleared her throat while he continued to study her. _"I should have asked that Freddie be here."_ Ross scoffed and leaned forward, dropping his finger onto the document. Her eyes fell to the paper and her heart sank.

The armed robbery charge was for two consecutive armed robberies that took place on December 13th, at three in the morning. He went into a 7-11 on Decker Street, then robbed the Shell gas station across from the 7-11. The timestamp on the video footage, as well as the cashier's witness account and the time that the dispatcher was contacted placed Ross at the gas station at exactly the time of the Vega murders.

"I needed money," Ross answered. Her shoulders fell and her eyes flew over to him. "I've only ever made one grave mistake, and that was the sexual assault." Ross narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "When I got out, my father threw me out on the street…I stole his hunting rifle, went into the gas stations, and took the money. I had no intention of killing anyone that night."

"I see." She pressed her lips together and brought her hand up to her forehead. Her nails dug into her hair and her eyes closed tight. It was a complex paradox; the crime he was in prison for was his alibi. "Then you had nothing to do with the murders of Katrina Vega and her sister."

"No." His nose crinkled and his forehead tensed. "I made an effort to avoid her after the assault. I had enough guilt over that crime, and besides, I had a court order to stay the hell away from her."

Ross grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it down, revealing a nasty scar hidden beneath some chest hair. "And scars from the beating her drunk-ass father gave me." Her stomach twisted and she turned her head away in disgust. He released the collar and raised two fingers. "Two little bastards who stand to have more reason than I do of going after Trina, the two she dated before ever coming across me. Marcus White and Mitchell René."

She read the bitterness on his face and grew suspicious of it. "Why do they have more reason than you? You're the one that caused the most damage, did you not?" His shoulders rose and he looked off to the side.

"I did." Ross's chest expanded out and his shoulders lowered. "During the time that Trina and I dated, she told me about those two. The abuse she suffered from Marcus, and the way Mitchell stalked her."

Ross's eyes darted back to her and a low growl escaped his lips. "I know what I did was bad, but that doesn't mean that I can't despise them for what they did as well." He poked his thumb into his chest and narrowed his eyes. "If it makes me a hypocrite, then boom, I'm a fucking hypocrite. I did my time, they didn't."

He leaned back in his seat and sneered. The expression was a dark and virulent one, albeit not directed at her. The question on her mind was a personal one but not pertinent to the investigation, however, she still wanted to know.

"Why did you do it? The assault, not the robbery. Trina was a friend of mine-"

Ross did a double take and snapped loudly at her. "The hell she was." Her heart stopped and she watched as a dumbfounded and skeptical expression. "I know what you and your friends put her through back then." His forehead tensed and his glare sharpened.

"I-"

"You want to know why I did what I did? Because I was stupid, I was angry, and I wanted what I want. Okay?" The tension in the air grew heavy as Ross's anger only increased.

She never thought of these types of people as being able to feel regret or remorse, and she certainly wasn't sure if he truly felt it. However, she could see by his reaction that he felt _something._

"Profile me, a criminal profiler would say that I'm classified as an entitlement sex offender. I also wanted to be in control. I'm not a violent one, mind you all sex offenses are violent, but I didn't hold a gun or a knife to her head while doing it." The muscles in his arms tensed and the corner of his upper lip started to twitch. "I live with it, I've done my time, and I don't go around pretending it didn't happen."

"O-Okay? So you're saying you regret hurting her?"

"I do. I do because of people like Marcus, Mitchell, Robbie fucking Shapiro, and you lot." He unfolded his arms. As he spoke, the tone in his voice deepened. "I know how she was neglected by her parents, think about how old she was when we dated. She knew you at the time."

Which meant Trina complained to him. She started to roll her eyes, but instead, took a deep breath and held it. She wanted to bark back at him, but of all things, _Ross_ was right and she knew it.

"I knew her little sister's friends were calling her worthless, I knew they were saying nobody wanted her around. I know this all started because _you_ were angry that her sister flirted with your boyfriend. Because she encouraged her sister to stay in that school, you took it out on her."

Jade clenched her fists beneath the table and her jaw locked in place. She bowed her head, now feeling like the one in interrogation. "I know the way we treated them, Ross."

"She was already in hell, having to deal with her parents, the stress that Marcus and Mitchell caused her, and then having to suffer all the bullshit she endured from your friends." Ross smacked the side of his head and scoffed out angrily. "So you don't think I know what I did to her? Even more grief, a greater hell than she already suffered."

"Trina was strong in the end, Ross." Jade lifted her head. There was a tightness that spread across her chest, and an anger that was brewing inside of her. Things were different for her now, and most of the people that knew her understood this.

Rachel and Jason knew she was less than friendly with Trina back then. She wasn't keeping that a secret. Yes, she regretted it, and she even had to prove very early on that she wasn't just spending time with them out of some twisted sense of guilt.

Ross began to relax, but the veins in his neck were still bulging, and his face was red with anger. "Did you think she anguished over you? I know that girl did everything in her power to move on." She felt the tightness inside of her beginning to subside, much to her relief.

"She was a fighter, practiced martial arts. She found a man who treated her well, a man that loved her in the end. Trina Vega was _happy_ finally. She may have been hurting from all the pain she had heaped on her in the past, but she was getting better. Her life was turning around."

Ross huffed, and then Jade caught a tiny flicker of a smile at his lips. "Good. That's good." He closed his eyes and scratched under his chin. "I've had nearly twenty years to think about everything. People say it, I know they do: People like me can't feel remorse. Well, lock someone up long enough to think about it, and maybe, just _maybe_ they will…everyone, even someone like myself, has some shred of humanity in them."

"I don't know about that, but the person who murdered those girls? There's nothing in them. When I find them, and I look into their eyes, I'll bet there's nothing there."

"You find who killed them, lock 'em up, and here's something for you." He set his elbow on the table and bent his arm up, pointing his index finger out. His eyes darkened and his mouth twisted into a scowl. "I'm not a killer, but I can be a very angry person when I want to be. Since I'm already locked up: That asshole that killed them better hope I don't find out who they are before _they're_ locked up."

Jade grabbed the documents from the table and stood up. "You're in no position to be making threats." Ross ripped out a dark laugh and shook his head.

"I'm not making any threats, I'm making a promise. I've been in prison most of my life, and I don't care if I'm in the rest of my life." He stood up and walked to the guard in the room. Jade watched him closely and hummed under her breath.

"If I ever learn the name of the bastard that kept Trina and her sister from getting the chance to live a full and happy life, I _will _beat the shit out of them if they're not put in prison. They deserved that chance, they didn't deserve to die with the memories they had-and certainly Trina didn't deserve to die after what I did to her. Maybe you can't tell me why _I'm_ still alive after all these years and she isn't, but to that regard, neither should the person that killed her."

He glanced back and narrowed his eyes. "And you can write that down in your little notes too. She deserved a chance, and some motherfucker took that chance away from her. And once I'm out on parole, the bastard better be grateful to be inside where I can't get them."

After the interview, Jade returned home shaken and on edge. The kids were still at school, but Beck was waiting for her on the couch, much to her pleasure.

Jason was there as well, drinking a beer with the man. Beck glanced up to her and grew concerned when he saw her. "Jade? What's wrong?" He stood up and she stumbled forward. "Do you want a beer?"

"No." He set his bottle down on the end table and opened his arms, letting her fall into them. There was an immense pressure on her body, like that of a steamroller. Her stomach flipped and she was heaving up while tears ran down her face.

This was the moment David spoke of before, where family and friends were a great means of support. "Do you want to talk about it?" She brought her hand up to his chest and closed it around his shirt.

"No." As her head fell to his shoulder, she felt a rush of guilt over the tears and mucus that was falling onto him. "God." No criminal investigation or interrogation ever got to her like this one had, and it wasn't as though she didn't know why.

Beck groomed back her hair and kissed her forehead. "It's okay Jade. It's okay." Her head lifted with a gasp, and her eyes moved to Jason. He too was eyeing her with great concern, but saying nothing so as to let Beck lead.

"Beck? I-I need to talk to Jason for a minute." She pulled back and Beck nodded once. She sat down beside Jason and looked in his eyes, searching for any resentful emotion. "Jason. You remember how I was in high school." Jason set his bottle down beside Beck's and shrugged.

"Yes. Trina talked a lot about that."

"After all these years, do you still hold it against me? Against Beck and the others?"

His eyebrow rose up and the right corner of his mouth pulled back into his cheek. "Why do you ask?" She took a deep breath and set her hand on his knee.

"Because. I need to know. If you still hold it against us-"

"I don't, and Rachel doesn't either." She felt a rush of relief and let out a mixture of a sob and laugh. "You said a long time ago that things were different, didn't you? You're not the same person you were then, you felt badly, and I think even Trina had begun to forgive you. It's not like you weren't getting better while they were still alive, Jade. We all saw it, and we all knew it."

"It's just, I mean…" She pushed her hands through the sides of her hair and laughed out in disbelief. Beck picked up his beer and raised an eyebrow at her. "The things I said to them, the way I treated them. It was wrong, I know it was, and I never wanted to make them think I didn't like them."

Jason leaned back and crossed his arms. The man's brow furrowed and his eyes dropped to the floor. "I guess I never asked why you were always so hard on them. Never occurred to me to ask. I know what Trina and Tori both told me…"

"Simple," Beck replied hastily. Jade dropped her hands to her knees and looked back as the man turned his eyes up to the wall in front of him. "Tori flirted with me when we first met, or so Jade thought, and so Jade became aggressive." She closed her eyes and Beck's eyebrows sank down in the middle. "Trina encouraged Tori to stay in the school, and Jade wasn't happy with that, so she attacked her every chance she got."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. It got a _little_ worse after the whole kissing mishap in high school where Tori tried to kiss me-"

"Other way around," Jade interjected. She knew the moment he was talking about, she was on the webcam and saw Beck lean in. Tori turned him away because Jade still had feelings for him. Beck's eyebrows rose and his mouth formed an oval.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. It always bothered you more than it did me." He shrugged and took a seat beside her. It really didn't bother her anymore since Beck let it go all that time ago, and when he had, so did she. "But, that time was when things started getting better between her and the girls."

Jade smiled at him and nodded at Jason. "Yeah, once I knew Tori had my back and Trina was just protecting her sister. I really am sorry for all the times I messed with them." Jason's lips curved to a gentle smile and he pat her once on the shoulder.

"They knew that, and so do I. So, don't beat yourself up over it, okay? If I resented you for something you did in the past, I wouldn't let you around my daughter." She laughed lightly and Beck smirked with pride. This was a good moment, and she was grateful to know that Jason didn't harbor any ill-will towards her.

* * *

><p>Well, we see that he is cleared, and up his sentence for armed robbery is almost over. While he can't be punished for speaking his mind, he is at the point where he very likely would attack the killer if he could find out who the killer was. A lot of development in this chapter, both good and bad. Jason doesn't hold Jade's treatment of the sisters in high school against her, and that seems to be important to her. What is going through your mind after reading this?<p> 


	8. Dynamic Duo

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Heavy chapter. Not only do we see three potential suspects but we shall learn a little more about the other half of this investigative team, and the close friendship they have.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 (Dynamic Duo)<p>

The grueling search to rule out the boyfriends started with some of the oldest known people in Tori's life that might have had an issue with her at some point of time. There were three boys to check out, each with a relationship that ended on negative terms.

Ryder Daniels, who was quite literally _Tori's_ true dangerous relationship as Ross had been Trina's. He was a player and a womanizer in high school, and much like Beck had been in the past, he didn't take kindly to being rejected.

Tori ended the relationship in a vindictive manner when she devoted a song to him and sang it in front of the entire school. Jade recalled him cussing the girl out in a storm before Beck and Andre carted him away. If it disturbed Tori at the time, she didn't show it, and perhaps that was a fatal mistake.

The second was a man whom Freddie knew all too well. Steven Carson, who much like Ryder, had a thing for seeing multiple girls. After all, he was dating Carly Shay at the same time that he was dating Tori. When they found out, they exposed and embarrassed him on iCarly, for the entire _world_ to see.

The third was Daniel Carmella. He was perhaps Tori's first boyfriend, and like Ryder and Steven, he was a womanizer. Jade never asked about her relationship with him, so she knew little other than he was eyeballing other girls whenever the two were dating. This progressed into his cheating on Cat with Tori later on.

"Something I notice." Jade hung her arm out the window and peered over at Freddie. "The victims have a pattern in their relationships before they found Jason and Ian." Freddie's eyes were hidden behind his black sunglasses, so she wasn't able to read him as well as she usually can. "Tori had a string of womanizing men who cheated on her, or used her to cheat on someone else. Trina had a string of abusive and violent men."

"Marcus, Mitchell and Ross. Right? Mitchell was the stalker?"

"Yes." Both girls had other people they dated, but these people didn't make a dent for the investigation. For Trina, there was Kevin-after Ross-who stood her up at a restaurant. Then she dated Seth, the boy that hired Robbie and Cat to sing to her in order to let her know she'd been dumped.

Trina had all but given up when she found Jason.

Tori was the same way, struggling through a number of small time dates until finally mustering up the courage to call Ian and reconcile with him after she left him so abruptly at Sherwood.

They approached a home where a boy with sandy brown hair was standing. He was holding a water hose towards a flower garden. His right hand was on his back, and his belly looked like a sack of grease.

Freddie parked the car and tensed his shoulders. "Looks like we've found Steven." He frowned and flattened his eyebrows just above the shades. "You mind leading on this one, Jade? I would rather not deal with the memories."

She shoved him playfully and smirked. "You owe me after the Ross interrogation. I could have used you in there." He smirked back, then pushed open the door.

Steven turned his head as they approached and threw the hose to the flowers. "Don't stop on our account," Jade blurted. The man's hairline was receding and aside from the beer gut, the rest of his body seemed bonier than she remembered. "You've lost weight since we last saw you, Mr. Carson." She held up her badge and watched with glee as his disheartened gaze fell onto it. "Detective Jade Oliver. My partner and I would like to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Sure. What's this about?" He crossed his arms and looked to the red car in his driveway. "I need to be off to work in about twenty minutes."

"This won't take long." She held up a picture of Tori and her sister, and watched as his expression sank. "By your expression, I assume you remember Tori Vega?"

"Yeah, and that crazy sister of hers. Remember it like yesterday." Steven growled angrily and began walking to the car. "The minute they put that video online and everyone left, her sister tackles me and starts beating the shit out of me." Jade and Freddie followed after, remaining stoic and nonchalant in their response.

"Seems like a good reason to strike back. Murder for revenge." He froze in place and stared at his reflection in the car window. His hands closed up and his eyes darted to the side. "December 13th, 2013. Where were you?"

"I was in Washington. Moved there on a permanent basis from 2012 to 2016. My mother can vouch for that, I only came back when a relative down here needed help." Her heart dropped and Freddie lowered his shades down the bridge of his nose, peering at the man.

"That's still a little broad," Freddie remarked, "You could as easily hopped a plane." Steven cracked his neck to the right and reached out to his car handle. "Please do not reach for anything, sir. Do not open that door and do not move."

"Fine." The man crossed his arms and turned around. "December 13th, I was still in Washington." He grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "My son's mother can also vouch for that. As for my son…child support and alimony started that week."

"What?"

"I was at the hospital with a girl I dated for about a month. She went into labor and gave birth on the 12th." Freddie cleared his throat. Jade dropped her hands and watched the man open the door. "Now if you excuse me, I need to be going. Child support isn't going to pay itself, you know."

They watched him back out of the drive and exchanged looks of despair. Freddie removed his shades and pushed them into his chest pocket with a heavy sigh. "And that is why I don't date." Jade started for their car, laughing out at him.

"You could very well hire an escort girl if you wanted."

"Oh yeah right, like I seriously want to do that."

"One day I'll take you to a strip joint, Benson. Maybe that'll get you interested?"

"At this point, my interest level would depend on whether or not the stripper's been murdered."

They hoped to have better luck at the second house, though the drive was on the other side of town. This time it was Jade driving and Freddie was in the passenger seat, going through his notes. "Over a year before the murders, there was a girl that was attacking Victoria because Hollywood Arts kicked her out to make room for her." Jade turned onto a new street and then snapped her fingers upon remembering the girl.

"Fawn Liebowitz. She actually was kicked out because of a variety of suspicious and dangerous weapons that she carried around on a regular basis." Fawn disguised herself as a girl named 'Ponnie' and blamed Tori for her own expulsion because it had been so close to when the girl entered into the school. "You know Nora?"

Freddie grunted in response and Jade slowed up to a stoplight. "Picture her, but with fewer escape attempts." He grunted another time and looked up from the document.

"Explain?"

"Fawn was arrested at the school by Officers Gary Malone and another guard. She managed to break free from her handcuffs, struck Gary in the head and then stabbed the second officer."

The girl then impersonated an officer, flagged down Tori and Trina, and offered them a ride home. "Tori put two and two together, and fought her off with her sister long enough to call the police again."

"So what, she's in prison then?"

"Yes, and she's been in prison ever since." Fawn Lebowitz was charged with assaulting a police officer, stalking, murder, and two counts of attempted murder. "The one police officer died, and she did fail to kill her targets. She was tried as an adult, and will spend the rest of her life behind bars."

Freddie rolled his eyes and slammed the folder shut. "Great." He put his hand over his mouth and narrowed his eyes. "So another potential suspect to cross off the list. How in the hell did the police manage to keep _her_ locked up when they couldn't keep that damned Nora locked up?"

"I don't know, Freddie. I don't know."

Daniel's home was a trailer, and he had no driveway. Jade seethed over having to park on gravel, but made no attempt to let her annoyance show. When they got out, they saw Daniel seated on the concrete steps in front of his trailer door.

He had a beer in his right hand, and was watching a small puppy chase it's tail in the front yard. "Danny Carmella?" The man looked up at her, and the dark stubble on his upper lip swept away from his nose. He brought the bottle to his lips, letting the neck cover up the soul patch just beneath the tip of his lower lip.

"Who's askin'?"

She approached the man, and was surprised to see not only a full head of hair but a very similar hairstyle as Beck's. Only it was less round and wavier, and the tips seemed to feather out near his shoulders. "Detectives Jade Oliver and Freddie Benson."

Daniel tilted his head back and closed his eyes, swallowing down half the bottle of beer. Jade's stomach turned over from watching the Adam's apple slide down his turkey-like neck.

"What did my sister do this time?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at the window of the trailer. A woman in her mid-twenties was watching them with wide and pale eyes. Her auburn hair was thin and whispy, and her face was thin. "Been trying to get her to rehab, but every time she gets out, she goes right back to her damned dealers."

"You look after your little sister?"

"Have ever since the parents left us." Daniel set the beer on the step beside him and glanced at his dog." The puppy ran up to Jade and jumped up, placing it's paws on her leg and barking excitedly. She smiled at it and waved her hands, then frowned once Daniel swept his arm in the air. "Come on, Nut, don't jump on the officer."

Nut fell to the grass and his whine shook Jade's heart. Daniel stood up and dusted off his clothes, then brought his hands to his waist. "So what can I do you for? You after Ophelia?"

"No sir. We're uh…" She glanced at the window and frowned once the girl hid from view. "Homicide, not narcotics." Daniel scratched the back of his head and closed his eyebrows together.

"Homicide?"

"You remember Victoria Vega and her sister, Katrina?" The man's eyes grew wide and his jaw fell open.

"Shit, they were murdered?" His arms fell to his side and he cleared his throat. "Yeah I remember them. Hell, Trina nearly scalped me for messing with her sis." After the violent relationships she endured, Jade understood perfectly why Trina was so protective of Tori, but it was startling to see a progression of anger that Trina had towards those who did something wrong to the girl.

Of course it was what led to her demise, but now it made her wonder if the shooter had any markings on his body. Bruises, cuts, or any signs that Trina attacked. It would be impossible to know unless investigators at the time denoted it somewhere, but then, Trina would have to have had flesh or DNA of some sort under her fingernails.

"December 13th, 2013. Think long and think hard, Danny." Daniel paused for a long time, slanting his eyes and scratching his soul patch. His face started to turn bright red and he moved to the side. "Mr. Carmella?"

"Shit…"

"Can you tell us what you were doing that night and early morning?"

"Yes. Yes." He grabbed his beer bottle and dropped his head into his free hand. "Goddamn it, I've got an alibi for that night." Jade motioned to Freddie, who instantly brought his pen to a pad. "For the record, I was nowhere near the sisters. I hadn't seen them in years, didn't care to, but I got an alibi."

"Name it, please."

"Fuck."

"Lesson the language."

"Sorry." He took a deep breath. Jade noticed his knuckles turning white. "Yeah, you see I uh, I've got a bad case of genital herpes now." Freddie lowered the pad and Jade's eyebrow rose as the man paced to the left. "I um, I contracted it around that time." The more he spoke, the redder his face became. It was almost amusing to watch, if not for the sudden admission of his alibi being an STD.

"Just give us some names."

"I can give you two. I was having a three-way." She crossed her arms and curled her lips up into a smirk. She heard much worse and knew of more disgusting things to come up, so this didn't faze her one bit. "Two prostitutes. I paid for that one, one of them wasn't clean."

"Well then. Do you happen to remember their names?" Unfortunately prostitutes were a difficult alibi to go on. They would still attempt to seek these girls out, but Jade felt it was safe to say Daniel had nothing to do with the Vega murders.

After receiving names, one of which Jade recognized as a woman who had been in the system for some time now, the two detectives left in a rush. The last thing they heard was Daniel shattering his beer bottle on the outside wall of his home.

"An idiot, but not a killer," Freddie said jokingly. Jade shook her head and drove out of the trailer park as fast as she could.

Their next stop was Ryder's home, and when they arrived, she was stunned by the immaculate fortune he seemed to have acquired. His home was a two story, gilded mansion, and his lawn was perfectly trimmed.

"Well this was unexpected." The detectives saw a small girl playing in the front yard with her mother, a pale woman with curly blonde hair. They asked the two to get Ryder, and waited for the man.

When Ryder showed up, he was wearing a formal business attire. A black blazer, black slacks, blue shirt and dark blue tie. There was a bald spot on the back of his head, and he had a thick comb-shaped moustache. "Can I help you detectives?"

"Yes." Jade was not only impressed, but frightened. This man was a far cry from the man shouting profanities at Tori as Beck and Andre dragged him away. He now looked _respectable_ and decent. "We're looking into the murders of Victoria and Katrina Vega, about sixteen years ago."

He locked his wrists behind his back and hummed. "I remember them. Shame what happened. That Katrina girl set me straight after I messed things up with Tori. Sat me down and said I'd probably end up screwing my life up if I didn't stop what I was doing."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Look at me." He smiled at his wife and daughter, then looked up to his home. "I've got an amazing family, I've taken over my father's motorcycle business that he had, and honestly life couldn't be any better. I took that girl's advice to heart, I shaped up. Turned my life around and said I wasn't going to be some bum in a trailer park or an dumbass slammed with alimony because of my womanizing."

"That's fairly specific," Freddie remarked. Specific yes, but it was nothing more than a coincidence. Ryder blew out a soft exhale and rose up on his toes.

"So, you've come to ask me about the girls?"

"Yes. We're looking to rule out any exes, and we know you're one of the rougher ones. Or you were. Do you have an alibi for December 13th, 2013? Say, around 3 in the morning?"

"Let me think." Ryder brushed his moustache with his forefinger and paced to the left. "It was close to the holidays, I remember I was visiting family around that time. Yes." Ryder lowered his arms and flashed a charming smile. Studying his gaze, Jade couldn't detect any dishonesty or attempts at lying. "I think on that day, my dad and I had gone out to his cabin to do some hunting. This was up near Fresno."

"We'll need his contact information to confirm."

"Gladly." Ryder bowed his head, then looked up into their eyes. "Look. After what happened, I was already in bad shape. Beck and Andre, they pretty much handed my ass to me." Jade's eyebrows darted up and she frowned at the man. "Trina came looking at me, but I was already bloodied, so she took care of my wounds."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We sat down and she told me right there that the way I'd been carrying on with Tori and with some other girl, my actions would bite me in the ass if I kept it up. She told me I should work on it, that I shouldn't treat girls like objects for my pleasure…helped me see that I was on a very nasty road. So, I admire her quite a bit, and when I saw the news back then…"

The man held onto his breath for a minute and his eyes glistened with fresh tears. "Find out who killed them. Whoever it was took two great women out of this world, two women who should have grown up to live remarkable lives. There's no telling what they would have done with their lives, and nobody will ever know what they could have done or who they could have been."

"We'll solve the case, Mr. Daniels. Be with your family…"

It was at least two days before they could manage to contact and confirm all the alibis. The prostitute that associated with Daniel was the hardest to track down, and Jade tasked Freddie with the job.

She made her way into the station in time to hear the laughter of two cheerful teenagers. Her eyes scanned the area, but there was no one else in the office area besides Freddie, and he was on his computer.

Jade approached slowly and pursed her lips when she heard the voices. "Is that a squirrel on your lip?" One girl asked. A second answered with a gruff sounding accent.

Her heart sank as realization dawned on her like a dark cloud. Freddie's hand was over his mouth and his misty eyes were focused on his laptop. _"He may never have loved her, but Samantha still was a powerful force in his life."_ She lifted the _Subway_ sandwich bag she was holding and spoke up. "Hey Benson?"

Freddie's eyes widened and he quickly shut his laptop. "Yeah?" Jade turned up a mournful, understanding smile and walked to his desk.

"I got you something. You've been working late, I figure." Freddie took the sandwich graciously and hurried to unwrap it.

"Thank you."

"No problem." She leaned against his desk and looked down at the laptop. It was tempting to ask him about the girls, and to ask what was going through his mind, but he told her a long time ago that he didn't want to discuss his past. More specifically, he didn't want to talk about Sam or Carly.

It was a decision that she respected even to this day.

"So, how's the alibi confirmation going?"

He chewed a bite of his sandwich and furrowed his brow at the laptop. "They check out. All of them. Even that prostitute, she's doing time in the slammer for aggravated assault, but she remembers Daniel." He leaned back and crossed his ankles on his desk. His fingers gripped tightly the sandwich, and his mouth slid into a smirk. "Steven's former girlfriend, mother of his son, confirms as well as several nurses that Steven was busy puking in a bag that night."

"You seem oddly satisfied."

"Oh I am." He laughed out and swept a finger across his eyelids. "Then Ryder's father confirms they were sleeping before a big hunt in Fresno. All three men are clear…none of them have motive or opportunity. Then, there's Fawn Liebowisk, like you said before. Clear also."

"Good. This means we can focus on other people." She put her hand to his shoulder and waited as he looked up into her eyes. "Get some rest, Freddie. Alright?"

"You don't need to be worrying about me, I'm fine." She chuckled and pulled her hand from his shoulder.

"We all need someone to talk to for support. I'm here if you ever want to talk." The man smiled for a minute, then took another bite of his sandwich. Jade took a seat at her desk and looked over at him, watching him for any sign of trouble.

He remained in position. His shoulders were flat as they were broad, and his body still relaxed. Considering the only lights on were their desk lamps, half of his face was dark while the other was illuminated by a yellow glow.

The silence grew between them, and Jade was certain he wasn't going to say anything, so she began to finish up some paperwork.

Several minutes passed with Freddie staring off into the distance. The only sound was that of Jade's pen scratching the paper. Then when he spoke, it was silent and yet echoed in the stillness.

"I should have been there." Jade looked up from her paperwork, frowning at the man. "We had just been talking on the phone. I'd just solved a minor case that got me into the homicide division."

He turned his head to the right, leaving it impossible for Jade to read his expression, but she didn't need to. His tone bore all the pain as it wavered and shook with guilt.

"I was going to maybe move to California, I had no friends anywhere in Seattle, so Samantha was my only friend at the time. She wanted me to come visit, but I told her no. I wanted to work my first homicide up there."

She folded her forearms on her desk and gazed down in silence at the half-filled paperwork. Her lips curled in as he continued to speak, his every word held her attention and sent chills along her spine.

"That's when I got the call." Freddie crumpled up the _Subway_ paper and scoffed. "From her mother of all people, in a fit of tears. Melanie too. It wasn't hard to figure out it was Nora." He flattened his lips and furrowed his brow. "She had a long list of enemies, people that might want to hurt her, so investigators were hardly paying attention to the most obvious suspect."

She closed her eyes as a dull ache hit her with great pressure in the chest. As hard as it was to hear, she knew it was needed, and she would be here for him.

"I didn't have a case yet, so I flew here and demanded to be let on." He chucked the paper into the trash bin and leaned forward, hanging his arms over his legs.

Freddie bent his head and clenched his eyes. Jade peered over and released a small gasp when she saw his desk light reflecting off a single stream of tears.

"Samantha Ally Puckett. One of my best friends." He looked up to the ceiling and his shoulders sloped downward. "…Was my first real homicide investigation. My first homicide, my first deceased. Part of you _dies_ there, Jade."

"I know." Even with her, it was hard enough solving the Vega murders now, but she had been given time to get used to investigations. She wasn't sure she'd have the strength to do the job if Tori and Trina had been her first case.

"I couldn't find Carly, no matter what I did. The funeral? I even turned iCarly on for viewing in hopes she would see, but she never did. That's why I was distant when she finally showed up the other day."

He ran his hand over his face and let out a mild groan. "I should have been here. I might have been able to prevent that murder, or maybe Nora would have killed both of us, I don't know."

As hard as it was to say, she wasn't going to suggest that he could never know for sure. This wasn't the time for that. "I'm here for you, Freddie. You know that, right?" He pulled his hands down from his face and dropped them to his knees.

"Yeah." He turned to her and slid his lips into a subtle smirk. "I'm not sure I'd be half as good of a detective without you, partner."

She smiled back and responded with a friendly nod. "Ditto."

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><p>So there's a <em>lot<em> that happened here. What's going through your mind about the exes, and what's going through your mind about what we've learned regarding Freddie? He clearly still misses the girls, misses his friends, but feels a lot of guilt. He's not so cold without emotion. I do hope you enjoyed the amusement of seeing Daniel, Ryder and Steven, although I can't say for sure that it was amusing. As for Freddie and Jade, it is good to see they've got each other's back, that's important when you're working with someone in that line of work.


	9. Dinner Date

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Ah this chapter. A semi light step back from the investigation, but I hope you're still thinking of the investigation as it goes. Please enjoy

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><p>Chapter 9 (Dinner Date)<p>

It had been a long time since Jade had a dinner night out with her husband, so when Beck suggested they spend some time away from work and the kids, she was eager to do so. Vanessa babysat before, so they knew she could care for Ryan for an hour.

"I cannot believe you're wearing white." Jade smirked at Beck and watched him pull the flap of his new white blazer. He laughed lightly in response, but she hated the outfit.

"I figured I might as well wear it somewhere." His parents sent it to him last Christmas. The jacket matched his white slacks and crème colored dress shoes. With the jacket was a sky-blue dress shirt and a long embroidered tie. Beck also had a hideous white hat that made him stand out. "I kind of like the outfit, actually."

She reached for her champagne and cradled the bulb of the glass with a delicate grip. "At least take off the hat. I can hardly take you seriously." Beck teased her with a smirk and reached for his glass as well. "I'm sorry for getting so stressed lately, if I have been. It doesn't feel like we're any closer to solving the girls' murder than we were when we started."

"Relax. If I know my wife, I know you can solve this one." His hand moved across the table and wrapped around her closed fist. The touch set off a soothing wave that washed along her tense and anxious muscles. With a smile, Jade pulled the glass up to her nostrils to partake in the scent of the champagne.

It had a sweet aroma that tantalized her senses. Jade took a sip of the drink and sat it back down on the table. "Thank you for all of this, Beck." She opened her hand and wrapped her thumb around his. Her heartbeat fluttered in her chest and her smile grew as she found herself pulled into his soft and tender gaze. "It's the nicest thing you've done for me in a long time."

"It's easy to get wrapped up in life once you get married, have kids and get a job." Beck lifted her hand and gently kissed her knuckles, drawing a blush to her cheek and a warmth to the area of the kiss. "It's important to take a step back once in a while and work on things before it slips through our fingers."

She pulled her hand back and shut her eyes. Their marriage was a little shaky these days, that was true, but at least they were taking great steps in preserving it now. "We saw the distance David put with his family back when we were teens, and if you saw him now today, Beck…it's terrible. I don't want to distance myself from you or the kids."

"You won't." He shrugged. "You know better. You love Ryan and Vanessa too much, anyway."

She would go to hell and back for her kids, that was true She still cared about her husband too, despite some of the harder fights they've had over the years. They argued as normal married couples did, but some of the arguments they had in the past had been about topics that married couples shouldn't have to argue over.

As of late, there were no arguments, but a small gap that was being mended between them. "I'm glad my job isn't a problem for you anymore." His eyebrows rose and he flashed a smile.

"You enjoy it, and you put criminals behind bars, so what's not to like?" Her body leaned towards him and she found herself drawn into his tender, loving gaze. It was so much different than the first years of their marriage, when his eyes once bore a chilling and manipulative feature that he once held in high school.

After all, he was the one that forced the friendship with Tori _after_ the girl flirted with him and Jade informed him that she wasn't comfortable with Tori coming around. The man always came to Tori's defense over his own girlfriend, and that was something that troubled her back then.

Once her job started in the early years of marriage, that controlling nature changed and he started to say he wanted her at home more and not working. This was what caused a lot of tension and drama that made her question the future of their relationship.

They made it work when Vanessa was born, and then it all changed with Ryan's birth. After that, he was the man of her dreams again, charming her and telling her how proud and happy he was that she was doing something she enjoyed. It took a long time for her to forgive and forget some of their setbacks, which was why Vanessa sounded so shocked the day they made love after what seemed to be several years.

"What's on your mind, Jade? You're sitting there, staring at your champagne bottle." She lifted her head up and opened her mouth to speak, but the words were stuck to her throat.

"I was just thinking about before." She furrowed her brow and folded her hand over the napkin to her right. "When we first got married, when we were dating, and you were so controlling and-"

"That's in the past." He took her hand once again and gave it a gentle squeeze. His voice was like a peaceful melody, luring her into a blissful state. "That was ad time when I wasn't myself, and when I thought it was okay to hurt the woman I loved."

She couldn't get it from her mind and attributed this to her job. It was in her nature to study the past and to ask questions, even when there was no need to. "You remember-" She stopped herself when the waiter walked up with their food. The server set a large steak down in front of her, causing her stomach to growl. "Oh that looks great!"

Beck smiled at her and motioned to her steak. "Taste it. Let me know how you like it." She immediately cut into it and chewed the tender, juicy meat. The flavor squirted against her cheeks and tongue, then ran along her mouth as if it were the sweetest tasting delicacy on the planet.

"Oh god." She brought her hand up to her mouth, swallowing the bite. "You weren't kidding about this place." She ran her tongue over her mouth, wiping away the juice that was dripping from the corners of her lip. "I don't think I've had steak that good."

"Best steak in town. Only the best for my wife." He took a bite of his steak and closed his eyes as he began to chew. "So, you were saying?" Beck raised his napkin to his mouth and opened his eyelids partially.

Jade squinted her eyes at him for a second, then snapped her fingers when the question about Tori returned to her. "Oh, I always wanted to ask you, but I never did. Back in high school, when I told you I was uncomfortable with her sitting with us at first…she was the girl who I knew had this big crush on my boyfriend for a while, so I was uncomfortable and yeah we got into fights but you always silenced me."

"Oh. Yeah…" He returned the napkin to his lap and breathed out heavily.

"I don't mean to bring up any old wounds or old fights, I just want to know." She ran her fork along the top of the mashed potatoes, raking it idly. "Why you always took her side over mine. It was always 'Jade stop', 'Be quiet Jade', and you knew how that made me feel."

"Always thought I was keeping the peace, but I see where you're coming from." He picked up his glass of champagne and looked downcast at it. "You were my girlfriend and I should have listened to you and paid attention to how you felt. I knew Tori liked me at first, and it's not an excuse or anything, but that was back when I actually enjoyed that attention."

"It was."

"I guess I liked it, to be honest." He took a sip and raised his shoulders. "We all did stupid things when we were young, I was no different. You were right to get jealous when a woman looked my way, because I liked having that attention from girls-and I liked the jealousy because it was more attention."

The fact that he was able to acknowledge this was a great indicator for Jade that he'd moved on from those days. There were no doubts in her mind about this, but it was nice to have a reminder.

"Knowing that I had cheated on you once already, knowing that I hurt you like that, I stopped enjoying that attention." Jade smiled at him and looked down at her mashed potatoes.

"I wonder what ever happened to that girl. Lisa, right?" Lisa White was the girl that set off their final breakup. The girl close to graduation day that Jade caught Beck making out with behind the school.

She watched him with the girl for a minute, having been brought to tears. He had her against the wall, his lips had been moving down her neck. Beck would have kept going had he not turned his head at just the right time to see her poking around the corner.

When he did see her, the girl threw her arms around herself and took off running. Jade never saw the girl again, never cared, and Beck tried desperately to get her to forgive him.

"Maybe I should look her up sometime," Jade remarked thoughtfully. Beck raised an eyebrow at her and lowered his fork to the plate.

"Why? What point would you have in dredging up something that happened so long ago?"

"It might be nice to let her know that I've forgiven the both of you." He was right in that it would be silly and painful to contact Lisa after so long. The girl was probably married and had a family of her own. She likely didn't need or want to be reminded of a time she was part of someone's affair.

Beck smiled at her and extended his hands, laying them on their backs. "Give me your hands." She let out a nervous chuckle and watched as he motioned his fingers inwards. "Come on. Humor me. Old time's sake."

It was some silly gesture they would do on dates in their teenage years. She'd grown out of it when she felt like people in the restaurant were staring. "Just this once." She exhaled and slowly placed her hands in his. Her eyes drifted into his and a slow smile grew as Beck leaned forward.

"I love you. You are the most beautiful, stunning woman that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I'm glad to be able to call you my wife." Her heart skipped a beat and a hot blush rushed to the surface of her cheeks.

His fingers wrapped around her hand, and his wedding band glistened in the light. "And I'm happy you're with me." She leaned towards him and sighed gently as he blew her a kiss.

The man straightened his shoulders and peered down at her hand. His thumb ran over her wedding ring, applying very light pressure to the diamond. "Jade West-Oliver, you are _the only_ woman in my life and you will always remain so. I promise you that." Feeling the tears form, she shut her eyes and sought to hold them back. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She opened her eyes and glanced at the white cowboy hat on his head. "But I still think that hat and your outfit are hideous." He removed his hat with a laugh, then set it down beside his chair. She leaned back and grinned at the small victory. "That's better."

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><p>Ah yes, Beck could use some help with his fashion choice. If he was trying to make a fashion statement, I think he made a clear one: Don't wear all white. (Do we have any animemanga lovers, or Asian readers in the bunch?). Well, what are your thoughts on the chapter and the events? We've learned a little more about their marriage, and the ups and downs they had. So nice they're able to work on it now.


	10. The Other Mother

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:Here I will introduce you to someone important that has also been involved in everyone's lives up to this point. Also a nice breather from the case, which is important to have.

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><p>Chapter 10 (The Other Mother)<p>

Seated in the Tyler's living room, Jade could smell the spicy taco soup in the kitchen. Her tongue ran across her lips and her eyes moved away from the television that was playing _Murder Book _on the Investigation Discovery network. Sixteen years and she was amazed this show still existed.

"Smells good in there." She curled her fingers around the arm rest and looked back to the show. The Investigation Discovery network was one of the most real and raw networks around, chronicling real investigations, and _Murder Book_ was all about how cold cases were solved after being handed down from investigator to investigator.

Jason sat in the recliner and clutched the television remote in his hand. "Lindsay does make the best taco soup," he said with a vague smile. "A recipe she and Trina concocted back in their college days." Jade could almost taste the soup, laughing as she pictured the sweat running down her face.

Lindsay Peters was the other surrogate mother in this family. She was Trina's best friend in childhood before she moved, and then in college when she returned to California. That said, she was also close friends with Jason back then.

The woman ended up getting married and had two young children as well. She lost her husband in a car accident six years ago, so she found solace with her family, Jade, and the Tyler's. When Jade wasn't there, Lindsay was, and together they had a hand in playing "the mom" to Rachel as she grew up.

Sitting on the living room floor were Lindsay's two young children. Nine year old Johnny, and six year old Debbie. Johnny was busy playing a game on his handheld game console, and Debbie was watching him.

Jade glanced over to Jason and smiled when she saw him watching over the two young children. Just as Lindsay and Jade helped provide a mother-like figure for Rachel, Jason was the one to provide a father-like figure for the two children. "Jason?" He looked at her with a curious glance. "I know what you think about Lindsay and her kids, but what do you _think_ about them?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." It was clear the two were close, closer than he was with her. With the principal's words on her mind, she wanted to make the suggestion to the two that they consider that next step, because she'd been able to see that connection between them for the last year.

Even during the recent Thanksgiving meal, Lindsay had been there. She washed the family's laundry and was busy cleaning up the house and setting things up for dinner.

"You two can't be alone for the rest of your lives. There's something there. I think you should explore it. For both of your sakes, and for your kids." She lifted her glass of water and turned her head as the woman came walking around the corner.

Lindsay was almost as tall as Trina, but an inch shorter. She had a narrower face and velvet-soft red hair that feathered out an inch above her shoulders. Her crystal blue eyes peered out at Jade and her lips rose up into a smirk. "Did I hear my name?"

"Maybe." She stood up and met the woman's curious gaze. "How's the soup?"

"It's ready to eat. Either we all can eat at the table, or grab and go. I recommend eating at the table like a family." Jade grinned as the kids started to close down their game and Jason paused the television. This was a good environment and a good value to instill. "Is Rachel still upstairs?"

"Yes," Jason replied, "I'll go wake her." Rachel was sleeping off a headache, so unfortunately she had missed out on a lot of quality family time. Lindsay sat down as Jason hurried upstairs.

"Rachel said you spoke with Principal Bannister a while back." She frowned at Lindsay and raised her shoulders. "Something he said bothered you, I think she said. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine." Lindsay brought her hand up to her chin and hummed. She was skeptical, and Jade wasn't too shocked. She turned towards her friend and crossed her arms. "The principal meant well, but I don't think he understands the gravity of the situation."

"What did he say?"

"Rachel needs a full time mother, and I can't be that person that she needs." Lindsay's smile dropped in an instant and her eyebrows drew close, pushing up a small bit of skin.

"I agree she could do with a 'full time mom', but that is a little harsh."

She leaned her upper body back and slid her arm over the top of the couch. "He may be right. I mean, you and your kids see Rachel and Jason more than I do."

"Don't be hard on yourself, Jade. We're all doing the best we can for her. Right now you're exactly what she needs."

Her heart pulsed and her lip turned up into a subtle smile. "So are you, Lindsay." She stood from the couch and stretched her arms above her head, groaning once. She lowered her arms and glanced to the woman. Lindsay's hands were folded in her lap, her legs were crossed, and her body was relaxed. There was a pleasant aura about her that was always comforting to be around. "You may be just what Jason needs, too."

Lindsay's eyebrow rose and her nose scrunched. "Me and Jason? I did hear what you said to him, but…he was Trina's fiancé, I don't know if-"

"Who better than her best friend?" Lindsay chuckled once and stood from the couch. She could see it; Trina would approve of the match.

"I…suppose. I've thought about it." Jade watched her pick up the empty diet soda can on the end table. "He's a good guy, he could use someone stable in his life, I'll admit." Lindsay grabbed a cloth from her apron and wiped down the surface of the table. Jade smirked at her and raised an eyebrow as the woman studied it. "So could Rachel. I haven't given it much thought since Travis passed."

"Johnny and Deborah seem to like them."

"I'm just not sure if that's something he wants, or Rachel either."

Lindsay started for the kitchen, and Jade followed. The woman threw the can into the recycle bin and looked into the dining area. She'd set the table already. "From what I understand, you're always here, taking care of the place. When you're not working that is."

The woman was a prosecuting attorney, so she did have a steady income as well.

"Jason takes pretty good care to clean up the house, I just like to go over things and make sure he and Rachel don't miss anything."

Jade looked up at the stairs when she heard Rachel groan about the headache. It had been long enough that she could use another dose of Advil. She started to reach for the Advil, but Lindsay was a step ahead of her.

She crossed her arms and stared at the woman with a subtle smile. It never occurred to her before just how much Lindsay did for the family.

By the time Rachel made it to the kitchen, Lindsay was ready with two Advil and a glass of water. "Thanks," Rachel said. The girl took the glass and Advil from Lindsay and downed them quickly. "I thought it would go down after the nap…"

"Let's see." Lindsay placed a hand onto the teen's forehead and furrowed her brow. "You're not running a fever. Is it only a headache?" Rachel nodded and moved her hands to her stomach. Jason moved behind his daughter and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Maybe some food will help with it," he suggested. His eyes darted to the pot on the stove and his tongue swept quickly over his lips. "Smells delicious, Linds." Lindsay nodded with a smile, then removed her apron and motioned to the dining room.

"Go ahead and have a seat, I'll serve." The family moved quickly to the table, then Johnny and Deborah came running around the corner to get to the dining room. Jade brought her hands down to her hips and called out for them not to run. "Help me out, Jade? The bowls are in the third cabinet on the left."

"Of course." She grabbed some bowls from the cabinet and set them carefully on the table. "Lindsay, how often are you over here? It seems like you know where everything is already."

"Johnny and Debbie like to come over often, so I'm here several times a week." Jade whistled softly and grabbed a ladle from the drawer. The women poured the soup into the bowls and carried them out to the dining room. Lindsay took a seat beside Jason. "Oh, I almost forgot. Jade, can you bring the pot in here?"

"Sure." She grabbed the pot and returned holding the side handles and carrying it carefully. Lindsay set a placemat and a square wooden block, used as a coaster for pots and pans, down on the center of the table. "Alright, here we are." She smiled as she set the pot down, then sat between Lindsay and Rachel.

"It's too bad Vanessa and Ryan couldn't be here," Debbie said excitedly, "I wanted to play with Ryan."

Jade pushed a spoon into her soup and smiled at the tiny sized child. "Maybe next time." The kids were with their father at the hardware store, he wanted their help on a project around the house.

"Where is Beck?" Jason asked. "He and the kids usually swing by with you."

"We've had a recent issue with the fence around the house, so Beck's repairing it. He wants to show the kids how to work on the fence." It wasn't long ago that Beck had the kids working to build a work shed out back, it held the lawn mower and other yard tools.

"Oh. Does he need any help?"

"No, I think he and the kids got it."

"Well, let him know I'll help out if needed."

"I will." She pushed the spoonful of soup into her lips and bit down on the meatball. The spicy favors doused her tongue and left a trail of fire down her throat when she swallowed it down. Her lips curved up and a tiny bit of sweat formed at her brow. "Good as always, Lind." Lindsay thanked her.

She grabbed the glass of water beside the bowl and brought it to her lips, guzzling it down quickly. As much as she loved spicy food, Lindsay's soup was a difficult challenge for her.

She cooked with habanero and Chili peppers, doused the soup with ground black pepper and some garlic. It had meatballs, veggies, and some beef. Yet somehow, the small kids were able to down their soup with greater tolerance than she could.

"Thank god I don't suffer from heartburn like Beck does." The others laughed and she shook her head. Beck had horrible heartburn and acid reflux, so whenever Lindsay made the soup, he had to eat something else.

Just as Lindsay brought up her bite, she stopped suddenly and looked about the table in surprise. "I forgot the bread. Excuse me." She pushed herself from the table and hurried into the kitchen.

Rachel reached over and nudged her father, grinning widely as the man took another bite of his soup. "Dad, I've been thinking. Lindsay's always over here, so are Johnny and Debbie." He raised an eyebrow at her and sighed. His spoon hovered an inch from his lips and his eyes closed.

"You too, Rachel?"

"Come on Dad, you know you need to move on too. Mom doesn't want you to be alone for the rest of your life, so aren't you ready yet?" He sat upright and looked over his shoulder with a subtle smile.

"Well…" His eyelids fell halfway as he watched Lindsay prepare the finishing touches of the garlic bread. Jade watched him closely, grinning at the enamored look on his face. "It isn't that I haven't given it thought."

Johnny and Debbie leaned over their bowls, both children were watching Jason as well. When he turned around, they instantly focused once more on their soup. His eyebrows rose and the corner of his mouth pulled into his cheek.

"It took a great deal before I was ready to even consider a relationship with somebody when I met your mother." His shoulders rose and his chest expanded slowly. "I don't know if I'm ready to put myself out there for somebody just yet, but I'll think on it. Just stop pushing the subject, please?"

"Alright Dad."

Lindsay entered the dining area with the tray of garlic bread and a nervous smile. "Alright, who wants a slice?" Jade grabbed one and bit into it as quickly as she could, then sighed as the flavor and garlic butter helped subdue the raging fire in her mouth. Lindsay and the others laughed, then the woman extended the tray. "Anybody else?"

As the others took the bread, Jade focused her eyes on Lindsay. She hoped the two would consider meeting someone new, or at least, looking towards one another. If Jason started to date, she knew that as difficult as it would be for her to take a step back with a new woman around, it would be even harder for Lindsay and her family.

Then again, Lindsay was a fighter just as Trina had been. It was she that got Trina involved in martial arts, after all. Trina would tell stories of the adventures they had as children, and the trouble they'd get into with their own mothers.

There was probably no woman on earth that could intimidate the woman enough to make her step away, but for both of their sakes, Jade hoped Jason and Lindsay would consider taking some steps towards a relationship. The feelings were mutual in the two, and she was certain they'd be a good match for one another. Even the children were a good fit.

Time would tell.

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><p>What are your thoughts as you read the chapter? Do tell.<p> 


	11. One Abuser, Two Stalkers

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 11 (One Abuser, Two Stalkers)<p>

Jade tapped her fingernails on her desk and studied the elevator door with narrow eyes. The ballistic reports on David's gun were not a match, but she was still holding out the possibility of a hired hit.

Every gun had its own signature: A bullet shot from the barrel of one .45 caliber gun, for example, would have different markings shot out from the barrel of a separate .45. The markings would line up like a signature, and for the ballistics report, the signature was much different. David's gun was not the murder weapon.

"This is going to be one of those cases." An exhale left from her nostrils, and her body sank in the chair. It was difficult to make a case without a murder weapon, especially cold cases. Lindsay would often say prosecutors want to see a weapon, if not, then they had to work extra hard to get a conviction. "I guess I need to pay a visit to the crime scene."

Her eyes rolled to the right and her teeth clenched together. After all these years, the apartment would different, there was no doubt about that, but there was one thing she was sure of that she saw happen in most crime scenes: Evidence could still be present many years later.

If there was any evidence still left over after all these years, it would be a miracle. The apartment had not been handed from owner to owner, since for the first years of the investigation it was largely unused. The scars of the murder were evident, from what the landlord spoke, and many tenants wanted to avoid they stigma of living in a place where a gruesome murder took place.

"Not going to enjoy going back there."

The elevator doors opened up and Freddie entered the station with a buff looking man in tow. Jade smirked at the pair while picking up her coffee mug. "About time."

The man was Marcus, Trina's first and abusive boyfriend. He stood at about five foot five, was overweight, and had stubble that reeked of beer.

Jade sipped her drink slowly and slanted her eyes at the report on her desk. Marcus had a record of battery charges and had been in jail multiple times for domestic violence. Although he was fourteen when he dated Trina, just a year older than the girl, he clearly never out grew his aggressive ways.

"This is going to be fun." She set down the mug and motioned for Freddie to lean the man into the questioning room. Freddie had a firm hold on Marcus's right arm. Marcus's wrists were handcuffed, and his body was jerking away from Freddie in vain.

The officers that up with Freddie took Marcus to the questioning room, and Freddie approached Jade with an exhausted sigh. "That didn't go as I expected it would," he remarked, "The officers I was with had to subdue him."

"What happened?" Dispatch received a call about domestic violence, and when they learned it was someone they had to question, Freddie went out to intercept. "It should have been a simple process."

"He took a couple swings, so he'll be in jail for assault on an officer." Freddie cracked his jaw and shook his head. Jade looked to the elevator doors and frowned when a woman came through the doors.

This woman had short blond hair curling around her ears, and a soft face that was covered in ghastly bruises. She was looking around frantically. "I take it that's Marcus's wife?" Jade's stomach turned over when the woman's tearful and puffy eyes connected with hers.

Freddie confirmed her question and Jade set her mug down on her desk. "I see." She'd seen this many times before, and each time, it broke her heart.

The system stopped calling it "battered woman's syndrome" after a long time when it was finally taken into account that men were abused as well. It was usually a nasty case, and the abused would so often latch on to their abuser in hopes of defending them.

"Where's my husband?" The woman rushed towards Jade and clasped her hands together. "Please. I didn't mean to call the police on him, he's going to be awful sore with me when he comes home."

"Oh he'll be sore all right," Jade replied, "Assaulting a police officer is a hefty charge." As was domestic violence nowadays. It was no secret that the criminal justice system had become much more stringent over the years, but Jade considered this a good thing. "Have a seat ma'am, and I'll get one of the women around here to talk with you."

"Wh-What's going to happen to Marcus?"

"Well, it's hard to say." Jade ran her hand over the back of her neck and looked towards the door leading into the observation and interrogation rooms. "Since this is the eighth time he's been brought in on domestic assault, and he struck an officer, he's probably going to be in a fit of legal trouble. That, and I need to question him regarding a homicide."

"Homicide?" The woman's eyes widened and her hands flew up to her mouth. "Marcus would never-"

"He beats his wife on a regular basis," Freddie announced bluntly. His eyelids fell halfway and his lips stretched into a thin line. "I wouldn't question what he is or is not capable of at this point of time."

Jade entered the interrogation room and approached Marcus with her head held high and a confident smirk. The man looked up at her and scowled when she threw her folder down in front of him. "I know my rights," Marcus growled, "I've done this dance before. I'll just be going home if you don't mind."

"We'll see, that all depends on whether or not I think you're involved in this murder case." The man's eyes widened and his aggressive demeanor was replaced with fear.

"Murder? I don't know nothing about no murder."

"Ah the uneducated diplomat. Of course." Jade crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "You're the perfect kind of person that likes to slap a woman around. Teach her a lesson or two, am I right?" She circled him as a shark might, hungry for blood. "A coward in his own right. There's a very angry man sitting in the California State Prison that I know would just love to meet you…"

She referred to Ross, of course, but Marcus didn't need to know that information. He was trembling already, and his hand was up over his mouth. "What do you have?"

"Well. Let's see what I know about you already, stop me if I'm wrong. You've been arrested eight times for attacking your wife." He dropped his eyes to the table and shrugged. Jade leaned down and narrowed her eyes. "You attacked my friend, so that's assault on a cop. You've also been known to be a bruiser since childhood, getting into fights at school and pushing your girlfriends around."

She leaned upright and tapped her chin inquisitively. "You dropped out of high school in your senior year. Have I missed anything yet?"

Marcus grumbled and muttered incoherently. "No." His fingers curled inwards and his eyes fell to the folder in front of him.

"Do you remember a girl by the name of Katrina Vega?"

"Why? She supposed to mean somethin' to me? Never heard of her."

"No?" Jade opened the folder, revealing the crime scene photo of Trina. Marcus covered his mouth, gasping into his hand as a flicker of recognition glinted in his eyes. "How about now, Marcus?"

She had this man pegged well. He didn't like a strong, dominant woman that he couldn't control. She needed to make sure he knew he held no power here. "This is my party, Marcus, and you're in my crosshairs. So I'll ask again…" She leaned over his right side and slammed her palm down on the table. "Do you recognize Trina Vega?"

"S-She's dead?" He dropped his hand and cleared his throat. "We may have dated in middle school."

"Yes, she was the first girl you pushed around. Put your hands on her, beat her and talked down to her, until her father got his hands on you. Am I right?" He closed his eyes and began to tremble. "Seven years later she and her sister turn up dead. So here's what I'm thinking. Do you want to know what I'm thinking?"

"What?" He crossed his arms and sneered. Jade walked to the other side of the table and looked sadly at the picture.

"I'm thinking you were pissed with her father. Stewing over his attack on you." While it was true that Ross bore the worst beating of anybody that hurt one of David's children, Marcus had still been gruesomely injured by the man.

He was the first person to hurt one of the girls in a bad way, so Jade had to read up the report the investigating officers pushed away. David blackened Marcus's eyes, beat him beyond recognition and broke several bones in the man's body. It was a brutal and devastating attack that shocked Jade to her core.

"Maybe you gathered the courage to find her and get a little revenge on her and on her father. So you gunned her down like the 'bitch' you made her out to be." Marcus cried out in protest and slammed his fist on the table.

"I didn't kill her! I was upset after her father beat the shit out of me, yes. It took a long time to recover, and I never did fully heal…but I didn't kill her. I had nothing to do with that family."

"Let's say I believe you, Marcus. Where were you December 13th, 2013?" Marcus buried his head in his hands, then pushed one hand over his head

"Sitting in a jail cell for beating my girlfriend at the time." His hands fell down and Jade bowed her head. She was surprised with how quick he was able to remember his crime, so quick that she wanted to doubt his answer. "She would probably confirm that, and so would the officer that took me in."

After the interrogation, she let the officers in the station take Marcus to holding. Not for murder, since she was likely going to clear his name. It was unsettling, but she didn't get a vibe of guilty off him.

The next person to deal with was Mitchell, and Freddie handled him. It was simple, the man lived in South Florida, so the best they could do was call him. "Tell me you got something." She leaned over his desk and threw her palms down on the surface.

Freddie hung his arm over the chair and his expression fell flat. "There's nothing. He wasn't even in California in 2013." Mitchell was a high school senior when he dated Trina, who was a freshman. "After David threatened him for stalking his daughter, guess what?" Freddie tapped his right forefinger onto his temple.

Jade felt the air in her lungs deplete as her heart sank into her gut. "What?"

"Just like Ryder Daniels, he went one the straight and narrow. Went to college in Miami and started a new life for himself. His wife also gave me an alibi for him. They met at a dance party taking place that night in Key West."

Her hands closed and her head fell. They were now nowhere closer than they'd been when they first started. "Great. None of the exes check out, David's gun doesn't match the shots fired."

"I did make another discovery that may interest you, Jade."

"Unless it's the name of our killer…"

Freddie began typing on his work computer and pulled up a file. It was a face Jade knew all too well. Her heart leapt into her throat and a smile grew. "Freddie, I could kiss you if I wasn't married."

"Thanks, but no thanks." He smirked back and focused his attention on the screen. "Robert Shapiro. We finally found him. He's doing time in a Nevada prison. Las Vegas, of all places."

"Prison?" She hurried around to his side and set her hand to the back of his chair while leaning over his shoulder. "What for?"

"Murder." Her jaw fell open and Freddie leaned back. His hands came to rest behind his head. "So here's our other stalker of the Vega girls. In prison for stalking and the murder of the girl's boyfriend."

Jade pointed at the screen, sliding her fingers across the words she was reading. "He _shot_ the guy!"

The crime scene was a puppet store that was owned and run by Robbie himself. According to the record, the boyfriend entered the store to tell Robbie stay away from his fiancé. Robbie then pulled as shotgun from under the counter and fired a shot into the man.

Freddie smirked and looked up to Jade. "He claimed self-defense, but forensics show the man was leaving the store and made no attempt on Mr. Shapiro's life."

"Well then. It looks like we're going to Nevada."

"Let your husband know, we're going on a trip."

"He won't miss me," she laughed, "Beck's taking the kids on a hunting trip with his father this weekend." Beck was taking his handgun with him so he could use that to teach the kids how to shoot.

Freddie spun his chair around and raised an eyebrow. "You alright with them handling a gun?"

"Yeah, Beck knows what he's doing. His dad took him hunting nearly every weekend growing up, so he won't let anything happen." Jade leaned upright and remembered the talk she had with Beck before. "Oh, Freddie, I'd like to look someone up when we have time."

"Alright."

"Lisa White. I want to see how she's doing."

"Lisa?" He raised an eyebrow and curled his finger over his chin. His eyebrows moved together and confusion flickered in his eyes. "Isn't she the girl you said he cheated on you with?"

"Yes, I just wanted to know how she's been."

"Sure. I'll run her name through the system tonight. See if we can find anything on her. I hope you're not planning to actually contact her though. That might be a bad idea…"

"I won't bring up old wounds." She turned her eyes to the computer screen and studied the mugshot of Robbie. "Unlike some people. Wounds will come."

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><p>So many things in this chapter. Marcus and Mitchell are crossed off, but it looks like Robbie falls into position as a person of interest in this investigation. He's already in prison for murder, could he be responsible for the Vega murders? You do know what his motive could have been, as he was a stalker. Time will soon tell.<p> 


	12. Returning to the Crime Scene

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 12 (Returning to the Crime Scene)<p>

"We solve this, they can rest in peace." Jade was hopeful that Freddie would catch her subtle hint. He had to stop feeling guilty about not having been there to save Sam from murder, that there was nothing he could have done.

Her killer was in prison, Sam could rest in peace but Freddie needed to let her go as Jade would do once she solved the murder of the Vega sisters.

"They died a horrible, violent death, and the only way to help them rest in peace once we solve the case, is to let them go and to live on."

She couldn't see him looking at her behind his sunglasses, but the hinting of a smirk was enough of a reaction for her to see he was picking up on her hint. "Let's focus on solving the case first, then we'll focus on the letting go part." He pointed to the apartment door where the owner of the complex was waiting.

While they were moving towards the apartment, Jade was recalling her last approach half expecting to walk in on Trina and Tori all over again. Her stomach was in knots, and her heart was leaping from her chest.

Still she pushed onward, doing the best she could to push down any lingering doubts or emotions. _"Cold case detectives have to go back and get a feel for the crime scene all the time. This is no different." _She took a deep breath amid the flashes of the sisters running through her mind and waved at the landlord. "Mr. Parker, how is the status of the apartment."

"My worst selling one." The tall man threw his hands into the air and turned to the door. "Legally, I must inform potential tenants that a murder took place in this apartment since I opened it back to the public ten years ago. So far only three have lived in the apartment. A bachelor, a young newlywed couple, and a college student."

Jade hummed thoughtfully and watched Freddie follow the man in. She froze in the doorway, trembling as a familiar yet nonexistent stench plagued her memory. The living room was just as silent as the day they first arrived.

"No one lives here now?" Freddie inquired.

"No. I do not rent this apartment number any longer. The tenants have complained about the effect this room has on them." Mr. Parker ran his hand through his long brown hair and let out a sigh of despair. "Mr. Michaels, the guy that lived her after the Vega girls was stabbed by his girlfriend at her house."

Jade raised her eyebrows and willed herself to enter the place while using the landlord's story as a distracting factor. It was amusing to hear the 'horror stories'. Though one didn't have to believe in ghosts or be superstitious to know that living in a place where a gruesome murder took place could impact someone.

"And the couple?" She asked. The landlord put his hands to his waist and shook his head.

"Sweet pair before they moved in. Afterwards, they were getting into fights so much that their neighbors would report what sounded like things being thrown around. They separated and moved out after a year."

He snapped his fingers and motioned in the air. "The college student did well for herself, I believe she was an athlete. Smashed her knee at one point and her twin sister came to live with her for a while. The two moved when they graduated. Maddie and Liv, I think their names were. Nice girls."

She chuckled for a moment, wondering if the fact that the pair were sisters had anything to do with their good fortune in the apartment. "Has anyone occupied the crime scene?" The crime scene was primarily the bedroom, but it could be good to scout the rest of the area. However, after three people lived in the place, it was unlikely there would be any evidence in the other rooms. "The bedroom, I mean?"

"Oh no, no one has." Freddie's eyebrow rose as the landlord turned the knob. "I think Mr. Michaels came in here once. He said he was so overcome with this heaviness, it felt like he was choking on the air itself. The remaining tenants stayed out."

Freddie removed his shades and glanced over to Jade. "So we have a very lightly disturbed crime scene." He flashed a smirk, then crossed his arms. "Lucky us."

When she entered the room, she was overcome by a sense of grief that tightened in her gut. Wherever she turned her eyes, she saw blood. It was on the walls, on the bed, and even on the floor. Where Tori and Trina had been, she saw them in her mind.

Her heart started racing, pounding out like the drums of war. Though she knew it was all mental, and the flashes of red were no longer present, she could not escape this feeling of dread running down her spine.

She screamed when somebody's hand landed on her shoulder, and for a second, she couldn't make out Freddie looking at her. "Jade? Do you need to step outside?"

Sweat trickled down her neck. She took a deep breath and looked to the empty space where Trina's body had once been. "No. No, I'm fine." She crossed her arms and shook her head. "That feeling of dread that Michaels guy felt? Yeah I think I get it."

Her eyelids lined with tears as she moved to the foot of the bed. She crouched beside the right leg and looked up at Mr. Parker. "Do you know if this bed has been moved at all?"

From what she could see, the mattress and bedding were different. This was because the old ones had been taken in for evidence. "Not to my knowledge," he replied. Jade nodded and looked towards the walls and ceiling, amazed the man didn't bother to paint.

The stains were very faint, but clear enough that she could see the splatter. "You're in charge of the apartments, why did you not attempt to clean they bedroom?" Mr. Parker shrugged and turned away. His inept action may have helped in the long run, but likely it caused him a great deal of business.

"I didn't exactly show off the room, and I can't help it if I freak out every time I get in here." He crossed his arms and leaned against the frame. "Oh I know plenty of owners that would be just _thrilled _to be the site of a murder, only so they can exploit it any chance they get. Not me, I don't exactly like living the legacy of having two sisters gruesomely murdered here. It's costing me money."

Freddie slid his arms up to his waist and looked about they room. "No more than you not fixing up the place. You've got cracks all over foundation and everything."

"Like I said. This room creeps me out."

"No different than any other room around here if you thing about it. Only thing is two girls were killed a long time ago."

"Like I said, bad for business."

"Maybe you should turn it into a haunted house." Freddie let out a grunt and narrowed his eyes. "I hear _that_ might be good for business." The man huffed and stepped out of the room, instructing them to let him know when they were finished.

Jade pushed herself up and met her partner's gaze. "How do you get a feel for a crime scene when you've already seen it in your head a million times?" She pointed at the wall, then to the bed. "Trina, then Tori, I've probably analyzed everything I saw a million times over. What do we expect to find here?"

"Just being at the scene instead of a picture helps. Here, let's try an old trick. You stand in front of the bed." She did as instructed and moved her hands to her hips. She put herself in Tori's position mentally and took a deep breath. "Now, I come in."

Freddie walked towards her and lifted his arm, pointing a finger at her. "And I shoot you in the stomach first.."

"There's nothing to indicate reaction time, it was a clear shot." She put her hands to her stomach and threw her head up towards her. "She's screaming at this point, frightened. Then the shooter's going for a second shot, so she puts up her arms."

"Bam."

"Tori falls back onto the bed, her arms sprawled upwards. Trina hears the shots and comes running in." She hopped over and rushed up behind Freddie. "The shooter has his back turned to her." Trina had always been a deadly hitter, and her most prominent martial arts attack featured kicks rather than punches, her arms were solely used for blocking. "So I kick, and I kick high for the head or the neck."

"As the shooter, I hear you up behind, so I turn with enough time to miss." He leaned to the right, then threw his arm towards her. "Frantic, I fire a shot that strikes her in the side."

As they ran through their theoretical scene, one thing was certain: the killer would have been covered in blood. With that, the killer had to have time to clean up, and then dispose of the murder weapon.

"Trina had to have gotten some hits," Freddie remarked quietly, "Can you think of any of the suspects that had scratch marks, bruises or anything at all?"

"I don't remember, but I don't think I knew enough to pay attention at the time."

"Understandable, since you found them." Of course Beck had to console her since she was so distraught, so it would be difficult for her to truly recall whether anyone smelled nice or if anyone had bruises. "We've definitely ruled out that this was an attack by somebody that didn't know them, correct?"

"Right." Fortunately for them, the original investigators found hair particles and DNA samples under Trina's fingernails. "Trina got a good chunk of them; at least one swipe. The only problem is they didn't match anyone in the system at that time."

"Let's run the skin cells and hair through the lab and see if anyone comes up. Was there anything else collected?"

"Yes." Jade pointed at the old dresser in the corner. It was chipped as it had been so long ago. "There was blood found on the dresser, but it wasn't a match to either Trina or Tori. So, it could belong to the killer."

They could test it against known criminals, but again the original investigators didn't have any criminals in the system that matched with the blood. "Now that Robbie's in the system, we can test him." They still had to get a warrant to collect his hair sample, and then they'd be in good shape.

Hair wasn't matched in the crime lab on the basis of only length and color. Much like a bullet and DNA, a strand of hair had its own pattern and inner structure that a lab technician could pair up and confirm based on a percentage how likely the subject being tested against was to be a contributor.

Jade looked back at the bed and frowned when she pictured Tori's body lying in place. "God it feels so weird to be back here again."

"I know, that's why I stayed out of Seattle and never went back. Let's do a little more scouting around, see if anything strikes us, then we'll head back to the station."

Since they weren't technicians, they sent the evidence to the labs for processing and now had to wait. While they waited, Freddie called her over to his desk. "Found that girl you wanted me to locate."

"Oh?" She grinned and looked to the computer screen. When she saw the location, she could feel the wind being sucked out of her body. "Los Angeles Golden Paradise? The cemetery?" Freddie leaned forward and moved his finger to the screen, pointing at the date.

"2013. She died young, cause of death is listed as suicide." Jade gasped out and fell into the chair beside the desk. She blamed herself, because she tormented the hell out of Lisa for some time after the affair.

Something didn't sit right with this revelation. Lisa didn't appear troubled. "Did she have any relatives that live around here?" Freddie raised an eyebrow and looked towards the screen. His finger tapped the mouse and a heavy breath fell from his lips.

"From what I see, she had an younger brother still living here." He spun around in his chair and tapped his fingertips together above his waist. "I hope you don't plan on knocking on his door."

This was something she wanted to do. She needed to, and after having faced down Ross, she felt brave and confident enough. This was closure. "How well do you know, Fred?"

Freddie rolled his eyes and bowed his head. "Shit." It may not be appropriate, but she wanted to know why she had this sickening feeling in her gut. If Lisa truly killed herself, then she'd leave it at that.

"I just feel like there's something more. I want to know why. There may be nothing more to it, but we should at least investigate."

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><p>So they've learned a little more from that crime scene, and now they've made another discovery in regards to something else. Lisa White is dead. What are your thoughts through the chapter?<p> 


	13. Shadow of a Doubt

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 13 (Shadow of a Doubt)<p>

"I do not have time for this." Henry West was currently at her work, standing before her and ranting about his daughter's family. Occasionally Jade would look at Freddie and see him watching in amusement. "I have work to do, we're about to pay a visit to someone important, Dad."

"Not until you tell me why my granddaughter called to say you're letting her father take them on a hunting trip this weekend." He pointed an accusing finger at her and narrowed his eyes. The man, as well as her mother, never approved of Beck. Even when he changed, they didn't approve of him.

"He's their father. He's allowed to take them on a trip if he so chooses." Ever since meeting Beck in high school, they found him controlling and manipulative, and disliked him even more when he cheated on their daughter. "I don't understand what your problem is. You still don't like him?"

"I'm a psychologist dear. I know narcissism when I see it, and that boy has it." Jade leaned back in her chair and brought up a finger. "He's also a womanizer. You've seen that yourself when he would go out and cheat on you."

"One, he hasn't looked at any other women, he hasn't been controlling or manipulative in the last five years, and he hasn't shown me that he can't be trusted."

The night of their argument, when Beck stormed off and left her parents to console her, they made a statement about how better off she was without him. He reeled her right back in with the engagement ring the very next morning, and they were unhappy with it.

"Don't you think it's time you accepted that he is my husband?"

Henry crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh we've accepted he's your husband, we just don't approve or accept that he's a good man. He's a pernicious little punk, I've always thought it and I always will."

"I appreciate your candidacy." She rolled her eyes and furrowed her brow. "And no, you cannot simply take my kids and forbid Beck from taking them on a hunting and camping trip when I've already okayed it."

"Do you think it's right for him to teach your children how to shoot a gun?"

"If they ever need to defend themselves, then yes." Henry slid his hands to his waist and stared at her with a apprehensive look. She grabbed her purse from the desk and pulled the strap over her shoulder as she rose from her feet. "Now, I have work to do, if you don't mind."

"Honey, I'm not trying to be combative-"

"Then I'd appreciate it if you and mom would at least try to be cordial with Beck." While she had a decent relationship with her parents, her marriage did strain things. They would hardly give Beck the time of day, and only wanted to be in contact with Jade or their grandchildren. "If it takes _me_ to say you shouldn't see bad in every single person, that's rough."

"Alright, then tell me what's going to happen if something goes wrong over the weekend. You and your partner will be in Nevada as per your investigation, right? What if your husband or child gets injured?"

"Then you're the next emergency contact to reach that is closest." She'd fly home in a heartbeat, but she would expect her parents to be the ones to get there posthaste. Her tone fell flat and she started past her father. "I still hold out hope one day you and my husband are going to get along."

On the way to the home of Richard White, Jade encountered light teasing from Freddie over the argument she and her father had. After that, they decided to go over the facts of the Vega case. "So, we can prove _Mens Rea_, right? Purposeful?"

"We'd have to prove premeditation, but there is clear criminal intent." _Mens Rea_ simply meant a guilty mind, or a criminal mind. Then there was _Actus Reus_, which was simply the bad action. For every crime there was _Actus Reus_, which had to follow the _Mens Rea._

_Mens Rea_ has four states: Purposeful, knowing, reckless, and finally negligent. With purposeful being the highest and most responsible-earning up to a life sentence, and negligent being the lowest. In order to be purposeful, the crime had to be planned, conscious, and with malicious intent.

Knowing simply says the person is consciously aware of a crime, but may not be an active participant. Such as two brothers driving in a house and one watching in horror as his brother enters a house and kills someone. Failure to report would make the brother that watched wind up in prison.

"From the state of Tori's body, I'd say it was premeditated, but we need to prove that." Whoever this mystery person was that Ian claimed was at the apartment earlier could have come back to finish the job, and if that's what happened, the murder was premeditated.

"Any amount of cool-down can prove premeditation."

"Right." Freddie parked alongside the home of twenty-three year old Richard White. "Okay we're here. Now, Richard was seven when his sister killed herself, so let's handle this carefully."

"I won't treat it like a homicide unless there's reason to do that. Right now, I don't see any reason." She left the car with her heart in her stomach. It was almost too difficult to see this guy, but she needed closure and wanted to understand why this had to happen.

The front door opened before they could get to it, and a young man with stern, but sad eyes stepped out to meet them. "What are two detectives doing here?" There was a surprising amount of scorn in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm Detective Jade Oliver and this is my partner, Detective Benson."

Inspecting him further, she saw his arms tense up. His legs were spread apart, his arms crossed tight enough to cut off circulation, and the vein in his neck was bulging, albeit subtle.

The level of distrust in his eyes was matched only by his anger. It bothered her tremendously.

"We're actually here to, uh…knew your sister a long time ago." Richard furrowed his brow and unfolded his arms.

"Lisa? She's been dead for a little more than sixteen years." He looked over his shoulder and waved them inside. "Come on in then, officers. It's just me and the wife…"

What little she knew of Lisa was that her only living relative besides Richard had been her father, so she was curious of the man's whereabouts. "What about your dad?"

"He's gone. Carbon Monoxide poisoning." Her stomach jumped to her throat and she turned to Freddie. The man was still silent, his gaze was stern and his lips were in a neat line. "Died when I was in high school."

"I'm sorry. You've lost a lot of family." Richard sat on the couch and was joined by his wife. The woman took his hand and watched cautiously as Jade sat down in a chair before them. "You don't appear to trust the police much. Why?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You tensed when you saw our uniforms and badges."

"Good call." She closed her eyebrows and frowned at the man. Mentally she was trying to come up with something to say; anything that might instill some confidence in this man. "It's nothing against you detectives. It's just something that goes back to my childhood."

"What happened?"

The man paused. His chest expanded slowly and tension filled the air once again. Jade saw the man's wife squeeze on his hand. Richard looked away to the right, gazing sadly out the window.

Finally after a period of silence, he spoke. "My sister died and the police didn't want to listen to what a seven year old had to say." Jade took a deep breath and peered down at her hands resting on her knees. "They said that a kid couldn't always tell a difference between right, wrong, murder, suicide."

His words were like a knife to the heart; he was implying that Lisa's death wasn't suicide. Jade's jaw fell open and her hands began to shake. "Those were different times. I'm sorry the police didn't listen. Surely nowadays they may have."

Freddie raised an eyebrow and paced to the left. "Are you saying you feel your sister was murdered?"

"I don't know. At the time, it seemed like it could have been suicide."

"Can you tell us what you remember? We may look into it. Although, if there's any possibility of murder, we need to exhume the body and perform an autopsy." Richard hunched forward a bit and rubbed the back of his neck, then pulled his hand away with a heavy sigh.

"If it comes to that, I'll consent." Exhuming the body of a suspect required permission from the family. Being an adult now, and the only surviving relative, Richard would have to be the one to give consent. "I'll tell you what I remember…"

As Richard spoke, Jade pictured the scene in her mind's eye, taking everything into perspective.

The seven year old Richard was playing with his toys, that included a large stuffed bear that had been won by Lisa at a fair she took him to for his birthday. He could hear her sobbing from the next room, still distraught over the breakup with her boyfriend just two months ago.

Their father was away at work, so it was the two of them since their mother passed away with a chronic illness a year prior. "Leave me alone!" Lisa's scream was sudden and pierced the silence like a rogue assassin.

Her sobs intensified into panicked screams, causing Richard to throw himself on the bed and clutch his bear tight with his arms while holding his hands over his ears. The boy stared at his door with large eyes, whimpering as his sister's screams went unanswered.

After several minutes of this, Richard felt strong enough to approach his sister's bedroom. Her door was locked, so he pushed himself up against it and pressed his ear to the door. When Lisa grew quiet and he heard footsteps approaching, he took several steps back.

"L-Lisa? Sister, what's wrong?"

Just then the bedroom door opened and a tall man stepped into view. "Nothing's the matter," the man said with a smile, "Lisa and I were just spending a little time together."

Richard didn't recognize the man and couldn't identify his face The man's face was dark, but he didn't know if it was the man's skin that was dark or if it was the shadow of his hood. He was wearing a bulky grey hoodie and baggy brown sweats. "I'm a friend of hers."

Richard couldn't see anything beyond this man, except for the window of the bedroom which was open a crack. Satisfied with his sister's safety, he followed the man outside and returned to his own bedroom.

It was several hours later that the gunshot rang out. Richard screamed aloud and bolted from his room and into his sister's room. She was sprawled out on her bed, and the gun was positioned in her hand.

He couldn't see anyone else in the room when he tried to tug on his sister and shake her. The boy screamed out for her, calling her name and begging tearfully for her to wake up, but it was useless.

There was only one difference in the room, and a handwritten suicide note had been left on the table beside her bed. The one difference was that the window that had been cracked just a little was now wide open.

"I called the police," Richard said with a shaky voice. "Dad wasn't coming home for another hour or two…I told them my sister shot herself." His hands were laced together and against his forehead, and tears were streaming down his cheeks while his wife tried to comfort him.

Jade's stomach flipped over and her eyes were shut tight as she bit her teeth together in an attempt to keep from letting out her own emotion. Just from the sound of it, it didn't appear a suicide, but the police didn't take a kid's statement for some reason she didn't understand.

"Did you tell them about the man you saw?"

"Yes, but I was a kid, I didn't know who it was nor could I get a good look at him." Richard dropped his hands and exhaled. His wife hugged his waist and put her head to his shoulder. "To this day…I don't know. The medical examiner did a quick look at her body because it was a gunshot, but he ruled it as a suicide. Since he ruled it a suicide, police figured the man was a friend or someone…"

"Richard, I-"

"It wasn't a suicide. I still don't believe it." The man gasped out and his voice grew dark. "Even as a kid, I knew my sister. She would never do something like that. She had to take care of me, take care of our dad-our dad wasn't right in the head, you know. He had problems, he had disabilities, so when mom passed away…"

"Whoever that man was." The wife shot a glare at them and narrowed her eyes. "The police said at the time it must have just been sex." The woman sneered. Her voice was laced with venom and a deep anger, like she'd heard this story several times already. " There was nothing consensual about it, but because it was suicide, they didn't care."

Richard's cheeks puffed up with air and his hand moved over his eyes. "As a kid, I didn't know what sex was." His hand slid down his face and his voice shook with pain. "I grew up and of course I learned what sex was, and I learned the difference between consent…and non-consensual."

"We'll see what we can do," Freddie answered abruptly. Jade's eyes widened and she glanced over in surprise. She wanted to help, but she didn't know Freddie would be so quick to jump on board.

"Really?" Richard looked just as surprised. The man pushed his sweaty palms on his legs and chuckled sorely. "You'd look into Lisa's death? All these years later?"

"I said we'll check it out. If there's anything suspicious, then we'll look into it."

They further discussed what Richard remembered, which wasn't much, but it was still something. Then they left, and Jade didn't have to tell Freddie her thoughts before he gave her the answer to what was on her mind.

"The guy was turned away by police that wanted to label it as a suicide." Freddie opened the driver side door and looked over the top of the vehicle. Jade stopped her hand on the door handle and made eye contact with the man. "I think the least we can do is not turn him away now that he's an adult. If it's a homicide, it should have been investigated as one."

As the entered the car, there was a stinging sensation that struck her heart and grew into a tightness that spread throughout her chest and body. She lifted her hand to her mouth and sobbed into it, earning a curious look from Freddie.

In homicide, you always want to look at the rings around a victim. Who was the closest to the victim; the family, and then relationships with friends or significant others.

Then the question that had to be asked was whether or not the victim had enemies.

"Oh god let it be a true suicide," Jade whispered. She never wanted to say those words about anybody, and truly didn't want to wish such a fate on anyone. She knew however, that if Lisa's death was a homicide, there was at least one person in her heart she knew would be a suspect.

"Beck had no contact with her once they broke up, right Jade?"

"Y-Yeah. He's still an ex, he still ended the relationship."

"We're going to have to exhume the body. Until the medical examiner confirms otherwise, it's still ruled a suicide." Fortunately, whether suicide or homicide, investigators kept most evidence locked away.

What this meant was there would be a note to examine, clothes, and other samples found around her body. Regardless of whether or not the death was a suicide, the medical examiner would have at least taken a vaginal swab for DNA. They had to have that on file too.

She did not want to think of Beck as having anything to do with this crime, nor did she believe he did. "Beck was a womanizer back then." Freddie's hands closed around the steering wheel and his eyes darted out to a passing car. "He always had to be in control, he was manipulative and domineering. He only cared about himself, thought he was in the right, and he _never_ handle rejection well. He thought he was so perfect, so good that a woman rejecting him was out of his realm of possibility."

"Try not to think about that. Your husband is a good man, you believe that to be true don't you?" She nodded slowly and pulled her arms around her stomach. It was so tight that the pain was enough to bring her close to vomiting. "So continue to believe in his innocence unless proven otherwise."

"I want to. I really do. She died September 28th, 2013…just two months to the day I found caught them together."

"Do not put your husband in that place right now." Freddie slowed up at a stoplight and turned towards her. "We have no knowledge to the contrary of Lisa's assumed death. Nothing shows otherwise, and certainly nothing puts your husband at that location when you yourself know he had no contact."

"He never owned a hoodie." She scanned the car with her eyes, speaking through whimpered and shaky sobs. "He never wore sweatpants. He didn't own either that I know of."

"There you go. Don't even think of him as a suspect unless we have to, alright Jade? You know that'll cause problems you don't want in your marriage."

She grasped his forearm, nearly crushing it with a frightful grip. "W-What if we're wrong?" Freddie tried in vain to pull his arm from her. "If he did this." She exhaled as her tears dripped from her chin and onto her pants. "If he assaulted that girl." Despair and fear clutched her throat and she remembered her father's prior words.

"Why would you think he could be capable of that?"

"Because." Feeling his arm tugging back, she loosened her grip and brought her hand over her eyes. "She looked nervous in that back alley. I wasn't sure if he was consoling her or not."

"Just be careful. As a detective, it's easy to be suspicious of everyone, even when there's no reason to be."

"I know." She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and looked out the window, grieving over the possibility that Beck had anything to do with this. "I won't suspect him. I can't. Not now, not when we're just working on getting our marriage back to where it should be."

"Think about it, Jade. We've seen a _lot_ of homicides where the ex-boyfriend was not involved."

"We've also seen a lot where the ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend was the criminal." She bent her forearm up on the side of the door and pushed her fingertips against her head as a perch. "If this isn't a suicide, he's going to be a suspect."

"It will still be some time before we can figure that out. We need to keep our focus on our primary investigation."

"Yes, I know. I'm aware." She was curt now, mentally trying to process how Beck could possibly fool her for sixteen years. She knew he never owned a pair of sweats, and certainly not baggy or oversized clothing.

It couldn't be him.

It wasn't him.

There was no way that she could have slept beside a criminal of this magnitude for so long. She took a deep and strong breath of courage, then looked over to her partner.

"We have to deal with Robbie Shapiro now. Right?" Freddie nodded and turned the corner. "Then let's get to it. I don't need or want to be suspicious of my own husband for anything."

* * *

><p>We've learned of the crime, a terrible one. It leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and I wonder if perhaps it t ies to the Vega murders somehow. What is running through your mind?<p> 


	14. An Old Friend Comes Knocking

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 14 (An Old Friend Comes Knocking)<p>

Seated around the family table, Jade kept a close eye on her husband, still unsure whether or not to doubt him in regards to Lisa's murder. If he did it, then it would question everything she ever knew about him.

To her right, Vanessa was spinning some spaghetti with her fork. To Jade's left, Ryan was rolling a meatball across the plate. Jade was struggling to eat and feared that her food might come up.

A war was being waged inside of her on whether or not Beck saw Lisa after the breakup. Then she thought of Tori and Trina; he had nothing to do with them. He couldn't have. Their primary suspect right now was the man with the most motive: Robbie.

Beck slid his fork slowly across his lips and turned his eyes towards her. She was studying his fork, thinking about taking it to the crime lab for analysis. But if she were to doubt her husband, a man she trusted for twenty years, then where would that leave her?

"I got an interesting phone call earlier today," Beck announced, "From an old friend." Jade leaned upright and buried her fork slowly into the spaghetti. "Andre. He was trying to get in touch with us, I think."

Jade's eyes were glued to the fork she was slowly twirling. "After all these years? How's he doing?"

"Well." Beck removed his phone from his pocket and pushed it across the table. "He sent a picture." Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes fell to the phone. Vanessa instantly suggested taking a look, so with a sigh, Jade put down her utensil and reached for the phone.

"He didn't seem to want to talk to us after Tori's death." She turned on the phone and Andre's photo popped up. He was sharply dressed in a fashionable white suit, was sitting at a grand piano, and had his hair in a ponytail that seemed to flow around his shoulders. "Well, his suit's definitely better looking than that god awful one you've got." She smirked and watched as Beck rolled his eyes.

"When you're right, you're right."

A woman Andre's age and two young children stood around the camera, grinning with the man. They were a beautiful family, and Andre's wife seemed to resemble Tori in a way-long brown hair and a slender figure. She also had the same skin tone, and the same brown eyes. "How odd. Have you seen his wife?"

"That's Taylor. They met in New Orleans when he moved there. Andre's done very well for himself. He owns a music shop, teaches piano lessons, and plays gigs in the jazz clubs on the weekends."

"That's amazing." Andre had to be a millionaire by now. The way his family was dressed in all formal attire, they seemed to reflect an elite status. "I'll call him after dinner, sweetie."

She handed back the phone, mildly uninterested in Andre and his wealthy family. "Oh um, I found Lisa, by the way." Her eyes squinted and she watched him. His brow furrowed and he pulled his mouth back into a frown.

"You did? What did she say?" Jade did a double take. Vanessa's eyes widened and she quickly excused herself from the table, pulling Ryan away against his will. Their daughter knew about Lisa because it came up during a fight the couple had when she was very young, and anytime Lisa was brought up, Vanessa left the room.

"I want to know if you saw her after you broke up with her." He shook his head and brought another bite up to his lips. Beck remained calm and chewed the bite slowly.

While waiting for him to speak, she curled her fingernails in and scraped them against her palm. Her right foot tapped the floor and her brow furrowed. "The last time I ever saw her was when I broke up with her." They had numerous fights even after he broke up about whether or not he was still seeing Lisa-even after they married and had Vanessa, Jade still accused him about the girl. "Must we go over that every time her name is mentioned? Did she say something to you?"

"No." Her lips pressed together and her hand uncurled a slight bit. Beck appeared to genuinely feel that Lisa actually spoke; was this indicative of non-guilt? "Beck, she's dead." His eyes shot open and his jaw dropped.

"Dead? What happened?"

She swallowed a lump of air and studied him close. His fork was hanging between his chin and the plate, shaking lightly, and genuine shock was clear in his eyes. "She killed herself. We think…just a few months after your breakup."

"K-Killed her-you can't be serious." He scratched at his head and set his fork down. "No, Jade, that's." He cleared his throat and shut his eyes. "Damn, I, I'm sorry to bring my dating her up but Jade, that's impossible." Her eyebrows rose and her heart began to rise. "She wouldn't do that, not to her brother. That girl was all she had, her dad had that mental mess going on, the guy couldn't take care of himself. There's no way!"

"Her brother seems to think there's more to it. We're going to look into this, find out if it was a homicide-somebody didn't want it investigated."

"Well, if someone killed her, then find out who. Just like with Tori and Trina. It's your job." He grabbed his fork and Jade turned her eyes away from him. His hand was trembling and his face twisted into an expression of total shock.

"You realize that if that's the case." Her voice broke and Beck stopped the fork at his lips, groaning softly.

His voice fell and he took a sharp breath of air. "I might be a suspect. You don't honestly think-" She remained silent, keeping her gaze away from his. "Are you _seriously_ thinking I would have anything to do with that?" Once again, she remained silent. Her eyes slammed shut and she waited for Beck to explode in anger.

When he didn't, she was startled. "You know what? I get it. You're just doing your job, like you always do."

"Nothing's known just yet."

"I know."

"Plus whoever did it may have assaulted her as well." He coughed and glanced up from his food with a frown "I…don't think I can eat anymore." His hand moved to his stomach and his skin turned sheet white. "I can promise you, I haven't seen her since I broke up. Now, if you excuse me, I can feel my dinner coming back up…"

Jade winced as Beck got up from the table and ran for the bathroom. A long time ago they made a promise for her not to reveal details of crime scenes to him, especially on the risk that he may potentially know the person.

"Well. One was left…" She picked up her fork and stabbed her spaghetti with it, sighing heavily.

When she finished eating she made sure to check on Beck, he decided to take a cold shower. So while he was busy with this task, and Vanessa was packaging up the leftover food, Jade took the opportunity to give Andre a call back.

She was eager to hear from him.

"Hello?" Andre's voice was smooth and calm, near soothing for her shot nerves. It was pleasing to hear his voice again.

"Andre, hey, Beck said you wanted me to call you back."

"Jade?" He spoke with an excited haste that brought a smile to her face. "Yeah, I was just sitting here wondering what my old friends were up to. I've missed you guys."

"Glad to hear you've been thinking of us." It was a change from all those years prior when he told them both he wanted nothing more to do with them. "You know, I'm a homicide investigator now."

"Yes. Beck told me you were reopening the Vega murders."

"Yeah and another potential case involving one of Beck's 'girlfriends'. Lisa. I can't go into any detail there, but-"

"Lisa? As in Lisa White?" She froze and her eyes darted to the right. She didn't know that Andre knew anything of the girl. "Hey yeah, I do know her. Used to hang with her when Beck was in that affair…"

Her nose wiggled and she scowled momentarily. "Thanks for the reminder, I haven't been reminded of the affair enough lately." It was surprising to hear Andre having personally known Lisa.

In high school, Andre was almost as bad-if not worse-than Beck was in regards to women and his respect of them. He didn't care if they were hurt, case in point being when Robbie cut Trina's harness in the play, and he was always deceiving the girls he went out with.

There was a time when he would date what Jade had to term "leftovers", and this phase disturbed her most when he tried to emulate Beck so much that he started taking an interest in girls that his best friend had either broken up with or was still with.

"You knew Lisa?"

"Yeah, even a little after Beck called it off. She was distraught, so I helped her out." Jade could feel her blood run cold, but the she shrugged his statement off as coincidental. It was in Andre's nature to console someone that was feeling down.

Although, there were times when the man knew how to take advantage of a girl's vulnerable state. She wasn't sure if Andre ever went that far or not with anyone she knew, and certainly not someone tied to Beck.

"So how goes the investigation on the girls? Are you getting any closer?"

"Maybe…So, do you still feel like you want nothing to do with us?"

Andre laughed heartily, causing her to flinch. "Honestly Jade, I thought you knew? Your husband's the one that told me to stay away."

Jade turned her attention to the bathroom, her lips separated, and her breathing grew difficult. "Beck said that?" Why would he tell Andre something like this, and why didn't he ever tell her? "Andre, I-" She shook her head and furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry if Beck made you feel unwelcome or something."

"It was just a falling out, Jade. Nothing to worry about. Beck didn't want me coming around anymore."

Talking to Andre was going to be important for the case, or at least for Lisa's case. She assumed that Lisa was in fact murdered and did not kill herself, and they had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt who did what.

"Andre. I bet Beck would love to see you now, since he seemed to be okay with me calling you up." Whatever reason Beck had for being uncomfortable with Andre may have passed, unless he felt Andre being on the phone and several miles away was better than being in person. "You should bring your family for a visit."

"You know what? I just might do that. I would love to be there when you solve the Vega murder. I'll talk to Taylor about it, and if she agrees, I'll let you know."

She thanked him and then parted ways. When she turned around, she saw her husband in the doorway, staring with a disapproving look. "Please tell me I didn't just hear you invite that man to fly in for a visit." She raised her eyebrows and straightened her back.

"I did. He's a former friend of ours, so I'm not going to turn him away." Beck slanted his eyes and let his mouth fall into an intense frown. There was something unreadable in his eyes, an emotion that confused her.

"If he comes to visit us, Jade." He spoke slowly and with a forceful nature that she'd not seen in him for a long time. "I'm taking our daughter and our son, and we're leaving until he's gone."

"Beck, be sensible."

"No. I'll take the kids to see their grandparents or something, but I'm not going to be here, and neither will the children." She stood up and felt her anger rushing into her veins.

"They're my children too." She flung her hand out to the phone and narrowed her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with letting them meet an old friend of ours."

"I said no." Beck approached her slowly. His shoulders were locked in place, his hands were clenched so tight that his knuckles were white, and his strong jaw seemed to be frozen. "I was his best friend. I know him. You don't know the man."

His arms crossed over his chest, and a heaviness thickened over his voice. "I'd take you with me, but you seem hard pressed to talk to him, but you wouldn't let the kids around _Robbie_, would you?"

"Robbie's different. He's a criminal, Andre isn't." She dropped her arms, then reached up, pointing at Beck's chest. "Whatever issues you have with him in the past, you need to get over it."

Jade walked past him, ignoring his further protest. She had no interest in fighting him due to all the other stress that surrounded her presently. There might be no chance of reconnecting with Andre, but Beck seemed not to want even the chance.

"Jade! Goddamn it, listen to me." She stopped in the doorway and slammed the frame with the palm of her hand. Her pulse was racing and her blood felt poisonous to her body.

"What?" She growled at the man and turned her head. "It was only a suggestion, Beck. He may not even agree to show up."

"He will. All he needs is an invitation, and he will." Beck quieted the anger in his tone and slid his hand through his hair. "You know, Andre never knew his parents." She raised an eyebrow and bit down on her tongue in an attempt to keep her silence. "Yeah. His mother's in prison on a life sentence. His father and two brothers lived in New Orleans with a sibling, they died when Andre was young."

As the tension in the air subsided, Jade removed her hand from the frame and turned fully towards him. "I didn't know that. Why did I never know that?" It hurt that Andre never trusted her with that information when they knew the man, but surely he had his reasons for it.

"Because _I_ was his best friend." Beck flattened his hand over his heart. "He shared things with me that he didn't share with the world." His eyebrows drew close and his jowl lines shifted down. "Andre's lived with his grandmother all his life, and that psycho was a witch. She abused her daughter, and then she did the same to Andre."

Her jaw fell open and she shook with disbelief. "Are you saying Andre might be criminal?" Beck held his breath for a moment, then heaved forth a heavy sigh.

"I'm not saying he is a criminal. Your specialty is profiling, and you know how Andre was in high school. Every week he had a different girl at his arm, he was worse than I was about women. He never knew how to treat them because he never grew up with that in his mind. He was messed up, Jade, and I don't want that kind of mental screwup around my kids or you-and you can handle yourself just fine."

"I'm sure there's nothing wrong. He's got two daughters, for god sake!"

Beck laughed once and raised a single finger into the air. "Just you watch. _If_ he comes for a visit, you do what you do best and you observe. I'd like to see if his family's as picture perfect as they seem, because that man's never seen what a healthy relationship with a woman should be. That, and he's a damned copycat."

"Oh?" She smirked and started to scoff, but Beck was unyielding in his detesting voice. His expression twisted into disgust and he slowly shook his head.

"Jade. One reason we had a falling out, do you want to know why?"

"Of course I want to know, you were the one that told him to stay away, evidently. Funny, because a friend would have been the best thing to get him away from the apparent hell you say he suffered."

"Yes." Beck's shoulders rose and his chest expanded out. "I told him to stay the hell away from us, for good reason." His eyes closed over and his chest deflated. "You remember when he had that thing for you?"

Jade looked away, dropping her smirk and shrugging. "I do."

"It's not the first, it wasn't the last." His eyes opened partially and his nostrils spread open. "_Every_ woman I ever had a thing for, every woman I ever dated, he would go after. He'd have this thing for them, he'd fantasize, you know?"

"He had his own dates."

"Yeah he did, but those never lasted more than a day or two, now did they? So why in the hell is he married and with two kids?" Beck shook his hand in the air, then cleared his throat. "Not important. I'm saying after a period of time, he started emulating me. That 'crush' he had on you came back for a little bit, then he would come over and hang out with _my parents_."

The room started to heat up and Jade could feel a level of discomfort eating away at her. If what Beck was saying was true, then maybe he was right to ask Andre to leave.

Beck clamped the bridge of his nose with two fingers and tensed his forehead. "All the time." His arm fell down and an exasperated sigh fled from him. "I don't mean five minutes out of a day, it was hours…he'd help around the house with my mother, he'd ask my father if he could join our hunting expeditions, like he couldn't have a damned life of his own."

"He seems perfectly fine now, Beck." She was aware that criminal activity wasn't something a person necessarily 'grew out of', but they could change their actions or moods if they so chose such. Just as Samuel Ross had regret for his crime and was unlikely to commit the act again based on the level of disgust he had about it, any criminal that still retained some humanity could change.

"I doubt he's mentally stable."

"Well he's got a million dollar instrument business, he's got a wife and he has two children. Whatever mentality he had as a child or as a teenager, he may have changed."

"Coming from you, I'm surprised to hear you say it."

"Why?" She brought her hands up to her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Look at me, I changed." He nodded and ran his hand over his neck with a sigh. "Even you! You used to be a womanizer. You were manipulative, controlling-an egomaniac." Beck cringed visibly; a sign of triumph. "Everyone can change, and everyone grows up."

"Think like a profiler, Jade." He brought his hands to his chest and narrowed his eyes. "I _knew_ better. I know the difference between right and wrong. I knew my actions were hurting someone I cared about, so I made the effort. I had the mentality, the knowledge and history to look at the situation and say 'this isn't right'. I still have issues with control, yes, but I know better."

Beck stepped forward, raising his voice and pointing at the window. "That man out there, living-thankfully-several states away never had that mentality. He was like Robbie, he didn't know the difference between right and wrong, he didn't know that being a womanizer hurt the women he was with. He didn't know stealing his best friend's life was wrong. Even his own views regarding sex are fucked up! And you don't just 'get over' those things!"

"It seems like he did." She shrugged. "I still would like to talk to him about an investigation, anyway, so if he does decide that he's coming for a visit-"

Beck threw his hands up and turned around. "Fine." He ran his hand over the back of his head. His entire body was trembling, and now he wasn't even looking at her. "But I draw the line on Vanessa."

"What?"

"If you want him to meet the kids. I'm saying no. If you're still adamant, you are capable of watching over Ryan, but I will take Vanessa and we'll go see your father or something."

Vanessa was the one that wanted to meet Andre, though. She enjoyed hearing the stories about her mother's friends, and was always happy to hear about how well they once got along with Andre.

"But Beck, she-"

"I said no on our daughter ever meeting that man, and my decision is _final._" He dropped his hand and walked out of the bedroom without a further word. He was incredibly tense, and certainly at this point, impervious to further argument.

She knew better than to argue any more when Beck got like this, so she would let him cool off. His words did resonate with her, however.

As her eyes drew to the phone, Jade couldn't help but wonder what the actual problem with Andre was. Beck had to have a reason for not trusting the man, even after all these years, and she did want to know.

_ "Think like a profiler, you say?"_ If Andre had any criminal-like behavior, which she doubted at this point, then Beck just gave her the reason why. Many criminals had a history of abuse in their childhood, and clearly Andre's grandmother was a monster behind those paranoid eyes of hers.

Now, she wanted to talk to Andre even more than she did before the phone call.

* * *

><p>So quite a bit happened here. Beck had a pretty horrific reaction to Lisa's death, but I wonder if that's an act or if he genuinely didn't know. It's a curious thought but he's still suspect. Now another has entered the radar, we see Andre has become perhaps the pillar of society in his town. Built a name for himself and a good life, but it seems like there's something more to it that hides beneath that spotless exterior. Is there? What are you thinking and observing throughout this chapter?<p> 


	15. Key Person of Interest

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 15 (Person of Interest)<p>

"You think that I had anything to do with their death?" Jade sat across Robbie, and did not treat him like an old friend but as a suspect and a key person of interest in her case. "You say Trina fought her attacker, and you know strength-wise that I was physically weak. There is no way that I could withstand an assault by that woman."

He didn't look much different than sixteen years ago, just older and more matured. His once thick curly hair was now thin and slightly grayed, most likely due to the stress of being in prison.

"Here's why we believe what we do, Mr. Shapiro." Robbie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You have a history with them. Not only do we know you put Katrina in the hospital, but you actively stalked them. You had a restraining order, and the fiancé says you were in violation multiple times."

Robbie's dark eyes slid into hers and he leaned forward, jabbing his finger into his chest. "I'm innocent. I admit to the stalking, and yes, I admit to putting Trina in the hospital, but my hands are clean of their murders."

Freddie, who was standing next to her, leaned over the desk and pressed his forefinger on the surface. "You're in prison for murder right now." Robbie flashed his clenched teeth.

"I plead self-defense in that case. A jury said otherwise. It has nothing to do with the Vega murders."

Freddie raised his voice for emphasis. "If you are capable of murder, and capable of putting one of the victims in the hospital, then what says you are not capable of what happened to the Vega sisters?"

"Nothing says it." Robbie leaned back in his chair, then moved his hands behind his head. He glanced at Jade and pulled the corner of his lip into a smirk. "Jade. Do you really think I was the most screwed up part of our little group?"

Jade turned her eyes away and pressed her lips together. "How much do you know about Andre and even your own husband? I assume you married the guy." She shot him a glare, growling lowly as Robbie continued to speak. "How many times did you divorce and get back together? He was a control freak, does he still control you?"

There was a violent urge within her to lash out at him, but she kept her cool. She knew he was intentionally provoking her. "Detective Oliver's family is not a part of this interrogation," Freddie responded sharply. He pointed his finger at Robbie and narrowed his eyes. "You have yet to give us a reason to believe you are not guilty of this murder. You have yet to give us an alibi."

"And you've yet to place anyone at the scene of the crime, I suppose?"

"We are not here to play games," Jade replied. "You're already in prison for an extended time, so what do you have to lose or gain from cooperating with us?" She tried to appeal to his good side, the good nature that had once existed within him. "Make no mistake, I'm not here to be the bad guy. I'm here to get answers, to find out what happened to our friends sixteen years ago. Don't you want that to be put to rest?"

Robbie's smirk faded in an instant and he lowered his hands. "I do, oh I do." He chuckled softly and turned his attention from her to Freddie. "I suppose _you're_ taking the role of the 'bad cop'?" Freddie's glare intensified and Robbie laughed again. "I'm surprised. I never thought Jade would be the good cop."

"We all want the same thing. We all want to bring justice to the girls and to their family. Let's lay them to rest, Robbie."

"Robbie? You called me 'Robbie'?" She raised an eyebrow and listened to his shaky laugh. The man then leaned forward and slid his hands forward on the desk. "That's all I wanted. Not to be called 'Mr. Shapiro', not to be called 'Robert'. No one calls me 'Robbie' anymore, you know."

Jade smiled at him and folded her right hand over her left. "Well, you've always been Robbie to me. In fact, the Robbie I remember is in there, I know. You did care about those girls, we all did."

Robbie's mouth straightened into a line, and his eyebrows bounced. "Some of us more than others." She was curious what he meant, but didn't need to ask. Robbie straightened his posture and closed his eyes. "We knew Beck had this thing for Tori."

"Rob…"

"He always did. We knew he had cheated on you with that Lisa girl. He never talked about it, I only found out from Andre. Those two shared everything." She furrowed her brow and Robbie emitted another sad chuckle. "Or at least, Andre was accustomed to leftovers."

"Leftovers?"

"Andre followed Beck _everywhere_. Whatever Beck did, Andre did too. You thought I had problems back then? Andre had less of an identity than Trina. He had a copycat mentality. Of course, the girls Beck may have cheated on you with tended to reject Andre's advances, and I think that bothered him a lot. If a girl took an interest in Beck, and Beck would turn her down, Andre would start to flirt with that girl. He hated to be rejected, more than Beck did."

"So what are you saying?"

"Those two have more reason to go after Tori than I do. Trina, I don't know. I don't know that those two would have had what it takes to kill the girls, though."

Her heart began to sink. She rubbed her upper hand with her thumb and pursed her lips. She didn't want to suspect Beck or Andre, and would need to figure out a reason to believe one of those two would be involved.

"They weren't suspected by any of the prior investigators, Robbie. What reason would they have to go after the sisters?"

He shrugged. "Beck never struck me as a killer, and neither did Andre, but you know what they say…_Anybody_ can be driven to kill another human being." Robbie folded his arms and looked to the prison door. "You know. Something I learned in prison. Two of the three biggest reasons someone will kill: Sex and money. There are other reasons, oh yes. Drugs, jealousy, power; you name it."

"I don't think you understand, Robbie." She leaned forward and bent her right arm upwards. "You." She extended a finger and he raised his eyebrows. "You are naming Andre and Beck."

"Simply bringing them up."

"But you're not telling us _why_ they would kill the sisters." She emphasized the word 'kill', hoping that her point would come across. "Are you using them as an attempt to take interest off of you?"

"Here's what we have against you right now." Freddie uncrossed his arms. Robbie looked up to the man and his frown deepened. "Stalking, a prior attempt on the life of one of the victims. Right now, and understand this, you are the one with the biggest motive."

"Oh? What's my motive for killing them?"

"The biggest motive of any stalker." Freddie circled the desk and his narrowed eyes sharpened. "And believe me, I have a personal dislike for stalkers. I stalked someone once myself, so I know how it goes."

Jade lifted her eyebrow and Freddie dismissed her concern with a wave. "A conversation for another time." Robbie scoffed and Freddie leaned over the desk, throwing his hands down onto the surface. The slap echoed in the room and caused Robbie to flinch to the right. "You want that person's attention, Robbie. You want to be the only recipient of that person's admiration, their love, their attention…so much that it becomes an obsession."

"Okay."

"When they find someone else, it hurts. It enrages you and makes you a jealous animal…and like every animal out there, you compete." Freddie walked to the other side of Robbie. "You think to yourself, 'if I can't have her, no one else can.'." Robbie's tongue swept across his lip and he turned his head away from Freddie.

"True, that runs through the mind."

"Obsession only grows, Robbie. It grows until you confront that person. So, here's what we think." He turned towards Robbie and crossed his arms. "You went there that night to confront Tori regarding her relationship with her boyfriend. She let you in, the two of you argued over your obsession, and you shot her. Her sister comes in, enraged to see what you've just done, and a fight happens in the bedroom. You fire multiple shots and she's down."

It was a good theory, and there was a very strong possibility. For Jade, Robbie was looking guiltier by the second.

Robbie turned his eyes onto Jade and raised two fingers in the air. "Two things wrong with your partner's theory, Jade." She straightened her back and head. Her eyes fell onto him, studying every bit of his posture.

He was slouched as though relaxing, his face was calm and his legs were crossed beneath the table. If he felt any amount of guilt, it didn't show. "I think Freddie's theory is a good one, Robbie." She cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong with it?"

"One." He licked his lips and sighed. "I had a restraining order. Neither Tori nor her sister would have willingly let me in that apartment. If I had done it, I would have waited for them to go to sleep, broken into the window, and I probably would have put a pillow over Tori's face."

"Thought about this, have you?"

"I had my thoughts that night. I'll admit." Her eyes widened. Robbie's words came out with an eerie calm that surrounded her. Had he already planned to murder? "I probably wouldn't have killed her, but oh yes, I thought about it. I did have that thought: If I can't have you, no one else deserves to have you."

"So why should we believe you didn't act on this?"

"Second problem with your theory connects with the first." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Why would I have waited for both sisters to be asleep, Jade? Can you figure that out? How strong was I?"

"You-"

"Trina once took all three of us on. Me, Andre, and Beck. In what order did she kick our asses?"

Remembering the story behind Trina's overpowering the three men, she felt her heart sink further into despair and confusion. Robbie had been the first to fall against Trina, knocked down within the first two strikes. He was also cowardly, tried to hide after that time. Then Beck was down, and finally Andre was overpowered due to exhaustion.

"You, Beck, and then Andre."

"Exactly. Trina could overpower me very easily. Hell, even Tori could have overpowered me. If two girls that have a restraining order against me were to somehow allow me into their home, do you think they-who are probably aware of some sort of danger from my presence-they wouldn't fight me?"

Jade slouched her body and looked down at her notes. She was still skeptical and still suspicious. There was always a chance, and Robbie could be attempting to sway them even now.

"Furthermore, Trina fought her attacker. Do you think she would be alive or dead if _I_ was the shooter?"

The trajectory of the bullet wounds and the blood splatter indicated frenzied shots, but shots that would have had to be fired while standing. Robbie was right, Trina could overpower him, and if he shot at her it would be from already being floored.

This shooter had to be someone strong enough to stand on their own against the force that was Katrina Vega.

"Trina not only would have overpowered me, but this person just shot and killed her sister. She would have taken me down, and turned my own gun against me. I doubt I would even be alive right now if I'd done it, and I believe you would have one victim instead of two."

She exchanged an exhausted look with Freddie. He shook his head slowly and looked down at the man. "Then tell us where you were that night," he ordered. Robbie's eyes dropped to the desk and he shrugged.

"I have no alibi. I was in the parking lot of that complex that same night." Her jaw dropped and she resisted the impulse to lunge at him. All this time, he was there and never said anything.

"You could have seen something." Her voice rose and she struck the table with a closed hand. "You didn't tell investigators this information! Why?"

"I didn't want people to think I did it. I'm a witness, not a murderer. I saw something, but the investigators were so focused on the people they were involved with romantically that I didn't say anything. I…secretly hoped maybe it was Ian."

Her muscles tensed. Jade brought her hand up over her mouth, and tapped her cheek three times with her finger. "Then what did you see?" This was a break in the case, or perhaps it could be one. If he saw anything that could help them, she had to know. "You can't be charged for breaking the protection order, but what you saw could help the investigation."

"I saw Tori arguing with someone." Her eyes slid upwards and connected with Freddie's stunned gaze. Robbie cleared his throat and swayed to the right. "I didn't see the guy's face, and it was a little far away. I was hiding in the bushes on the other side of the lot."

"Okay." She wrote this information down in notes, writing furiously but as legibly as she could. "Can you tell us what you saw then, Robbie?"

"Yes." He blew out another heavy sigh. "And I mean they were yelling. I thought I recognized the guy's voice, but I'm uncertain if I did or not. There was a time when the man grabbed Tori's wrists and slammed her up against the apartment."

Her pulse quickened and she ground her teeth angrily. _Why did investigators not have this information?_ She knew it could have blown the case wide open. If anything, this man could have returned to kill Tori.

"For what reason would this person be fighting her, Robbie?"

"He was threatening her. Telling her to keep her mouth shut. If she talked to anyone, he would kill her." Robbie's hand lifted over his mouth and he leaned to the right. The bottom of his closed eyes grew moist from tears, and his voice started to tremble. "She said he didn't scare her, but I could see it well enough, she was scared of him. 'You killed that woman', she said."

He dropped his hand and choked on his words. "I remember her saying that like it was yesterday. 'You killed her, and I'm going to tell everyone you killed her'. She called him a monster, she spit at him."

Jade's stomach turned over violently as she pictured the scene unfolding. She tried to ask further questions, but her nose and throat was burning too much for her to force her words out.

Seeing her distress, Freddie took over. "Can you remember what happened next?" Robbie nodded once and opened his eyes partially. "Also, why did you withhold this information? There was a clear threat to life."

"I withheld it because I wanted to see Ian go to prison. Thinking back, I know that's stupid…but that's the reason. I wanted police to think that it was Tori's boyfriend."

"Well it wasn't. Someone went in there and they shot your friend as well as her sister. They left a little baby girl alone to stew in her own feces until her father could come home."

"I know. I…I know." He cleared his throat and ran his fingers across his cheeks. "I guess maybe the man heard Trina coming or something, because he let go of Tori and ran off. Trina opened the door a few seconds later, and Tori hurried inside."

"Okay, Robbie. Next question. Can you describe the attacker in any way?"

"I didn't get a look at his face, and he was wearing gloves. He had this hooded sweater on that looked like it was twice his size. Same for the pants." Jade's heart stopped and her brain rushed to the description of the man that Richard White described.

The breath of air coming up stopped in her throat and tightened into a lump that cut off her ability to breathe. She felt a trickle of sweat running down the side of her face and wondered if maybe the two crimes had been committed by the same person.

"W-What color were the clothes? Do you remember?"

"Um…" Robbie squinted his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table almost rhythmically. "I think brown and grey? Maybe grey pants and brown sweater or…" His fingers snapped and he looked at her, pointing swiftly. "No, other way around. Grey sweater and brown pants. Awful looking clothes."

Even Freddie's face dropped at the mention of the outfit. Freddie brought his index finger to rest beneath his nose and paced to the right. "Thank you, Robbie." He then turned to Jade, looking hard into her eyes. "It could be the same person that killed Lisa White."

"What?" Robbie turned his head up and furrowed his brow. "She's dead?"

"Yes, and Tori may have found out about it."

"Right." Jade stood from the table and stumbled to maintain footing. This also meant that Tori knew the killer. The fact was already assumed, but Robbie confirmed it as truth.

Tori would not have confronted someone about a murder if she didn't know the person. Either that, or Lisa's killer confided in Tori that he had done so.

Now they had motive, and they had the how, but they needed the why.

After they'd left and on the drive to the airport, Jade was still shaking from her visit with Robbie. Truly, if she never had to see him again, she'd be happy. "Freddie, what are the chances that the killer is-"

"We don't know who did it, yet. We need to be able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt."

"They're connected to Lisa's case, though. My own husband is a suspect." The evidence had come back, and the medical examiner found evidence that Lisa could not have pulled the trigger herself and the weapon was placed in her hand post-mortem.

"Only because he once had a relationship with her." She winced at his words and looked out the window with a feeling of deep pain. "Remember why we also investigate, Jade. We don't look for evidence to convict, we also look for evidence to prove someone _didn't_ commit a crime."

Freddie parked the rental in the lot of the airport and twisted towards her, hanging his left hand loosely over the steering wheel. "If Beck's thrown into suspicion, find evidence to prove he had nothing to do with it. Find him not guilty and remember, no pre-conceived suspicions just yet. That's why investigators never solved the Vega murders, it's why they never interrogated Robbie enough to learn what we did."

"Because they focused on Jason?"

"Exactly. They wanted it to be Jason, they already figured out before they even started that Jason was the killer. You and I both know it's impossible. I know you're married to Beck, I know you care about him and you don't want him to be the one that did this crime…so prove that he had nothing to do with it, and if he did, arrest him."

"Do you think he had something to do with it?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen the evidence to indicate that he did. Have a little faith in the man. He did, after all, change the way he was so that he could salvage his relationship with you."

Her heart skipped a beat, and a tiny smile flashed on her face. "You're right." She pushed open the door and looked towards the airport. "You know, Freddie. You said back there that you'd stalked somebody once. What was that about?"

"I was twelve." He pushed his sunglasses on and walked alongside her. "Carly Shay. I was obsessed with her. Even when Sam and I dated, she was paranoid that I still had feelings for Carly. That's one reason our relationship would never have worked out, because she wasn't wrong."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…I followed Carly everywhere like a damned lovesick puppy. I'd watch through my peephole-our door was across from hers-just to see Carly coming and going from her apartment. I was a creep, and both girls made me aware of that. I grew out of that habit eventually, knew it wasn't right."

"You say you dated Sam?"

"Yes." His jaw locked in place and his expression grew firm. "We were lovers for a time. My feelings for her remained after we stopped dating, but I _did_ still have something for Carly that kind of came back once I stopped dating Sam. I became that asshole, flipping between two friends, and I saw how it hurt them. At the time, it didn't matter, I just wanted to make myself happy…You know Sam left Seattle because of me?"

She furrowed her brow and bowed her head. This brought back the memories of Beck and Tori, so she swallowed down that pain and tried to focus on his story.

"What happened?"

"Carly kissed me before leaving to Italy. That's what happened." Her lips formed an oval and her hand drifted up to her mouth. "I was…thrilled, and I made the mistake of telling Sam. At first, she said she hated me and accused me of never having any true or genuine feelings for her. I told her while dating that I loved her, it was real but because of what happened with Carly, she accused those words of being nothing more than words."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. So am I." He sighed heavily and looked up to the sky. "She said she never wanted to see me again, never wanted to talk to me again. I don't know if she ever talked to Carly after that or not, but she did eventually start talking to me again and we became close…but a relationship with her would never have happened again, not after that."

"So she left Seattle because of that fight with you?"

"It was more than just that fight, it was everything. I was a liar in her eyes, someone who didn't care if I shattered a friendship between two people. Then that was combined with the abuse and issues she had with her mother, and the fact that Melanie was living so far away. I always wonder what would have happened if I'd stopped her from leaving."

Jade put her hand on his shoulder and stopped walking. He looked back at her and she brought up a smile in hopes that it would comfort her friend. "Freddie, you shouldn't feel guilty about that. You know it's not your fault."

"Yeah I know. I know also there was nothing I could have done, and I know I need to move past her. It doesn't make it hurt any less." He cleared his throat and motioned to the airport. "Come on, we need to get moving. Once we get back, I think we need to analyze the apartment security footage and see if we can see this mysterious person in a grey sweater."

"Okay. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Robbie may have blown the case open a little more. He's a crucial witness now, he saw what could have been the Vega killer-the same person who killed Lisa White-in a fight with Tori Vega just hours before her murder. We now have motive. The question is who is this mystery person? What are you thinking throughout the chapter?<p> 


	16. A Detective's Doubt

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 16 (A Detective's Doubt)<p>

"Why am I here?" Jade put her hand to the observation room mirror and set her forehead against the glass, watching as her husband sat on the other side with Freddie. "I want to talk to my wife." She closed her eyes and shook her head, trembling with anxiety.

"I'm afraid she requested otherwise. I'm sorry, but I'll be questioning you." There were two things that happened once she returned home: Beck lost his gun on the hunting trip, and the DNA results from the seminal fluid saved from Lisa's murder did not match any names in the system.

Furthermore, the blood and hair found at the Vega crime scene also came up with no listed criminals in the database as matching.

Even still, she couldn't bring herself to question him. Not when he was one potential person of interest. "I didn't kill those girls." Beck crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I swear to you, I did not touch them."

Freddie hunched over the table, sliding his palms against the surface. He stared into Beck's eyes, then released a heavy sigh. "If you're innocent, then cooperate and make this easy for everyone. You must understand why you're a person of interest."

Beck scoffed and looked away. "I really don't." He then looked to the mirror and his eyebrows rose. "Jade? Jade I know you're behind there. Please, you've got to believe me, I didn't hurt Tori and Trina-I would never!" She turned away and brought her hands up to her chest. Her misty eyes drifted to the ceiling and her chest trembled with pain.

"Look at me," Freddie ordered. Beck's head dropped down, then slowly lifted up to Freddie. "You cheated on your wife with Lisa White, and two months after you broke it off, she was assaulted and murdered with her kid brother in the next room."

Beck cupped his right hand over his mouth and groaned as Freddie's voice rose. "A witness at the apartment complex heard the same killer threatening Victoria's life if she were to go to the police about learned information…this just hours before her death."

"I wasn't there." Beck gnashed his teeth and slammed his fist on the table. "The last time I saw Lisa White was when I broke it off with her. I had no reason to kill her, and I had no reason to kill Tori or her sister."

Freddie huffed, and then began to circle Beck. He wasn't showing any leniency due to his being married to Jade, but at the very least, Freddie seemed to be trying not to be too harsh.

"You say you lost your gun while out hunting. It's the same type of gun used to kill the Vega sisters." Beck closed his eyes and dropped his shoulders. "We've sent a team out to that location and we're going to search for that gun, Mr. Oliver." Freddie narrowed his eyes and scratched at his chin. "What will we find once we run ballistics? Will they match up with the bullets found at the crime scene?"

"I don't know. I don't see why that gun would be the weapon used." Beck shrugged and looked at the mirror. "I didn't even have possession of the weapon that night."

"Are you lying to me?"

"It was my father's gun." Beck snapped his head back in Freddie's direction, growling lowly. "He said he lost it the week prior and found it underneath the seat of his car" Freddie swept his fingers across his nose and curled his mouth into a flashy smirk.

"Convenient, if true."

Beck slammed his hands on the table and stood abruptly. "I'm not a killer." Freddie tensed and turned an angry glare onto the man. "I'm a lot of things. I've been a cheater, I've been a manipulator and a controller, I've been an asshole, and I admit that yes I've lied about shit over the years…but I am _not_ a killer."

"Sit the fuck down." Freddie set his hand on Beck's shoulder, pushing lightly and making Beck fall back into the chair. Freddie opened the folder on the desk and removed three photos, one of each victim. "You look at these pictures and you tell me you didn't do this."

Beck took one glance and his eyes grew large. The man started to gag and hunched over a nearby trash bin, hurling violently.

Jade wondered which photo was the one that got him the most. Since he'd seen Tori and Trina in person and didn't have the urge to vomit on sight, she couldn't help but to wonder if he was reacting to Lisa.

Beck sat upright and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His narrow eyes flew to Freddie and a growl shot out from his throat. "You're not going to find anything tying me to this. Why? Because I didn't do it. I didn't kill them."

"Then you'll help me by giving your DNA and a sample of your hair?" Jade held her breath and prayed Beck would accept this. If not, they would have to get a warrant. If he refused, it was a sign of guilt in her eyes, although they'd had many guilty murderers willingly give their DNA.

"If it'll prove my innocence, then so be it." Her heart lifted momentarily and she looked over her shoulder, watching as Freddie grabbed a swab from the kit on the table. Beck crossed his arms and opened his mouth.

"This will only take a second." Beck groaned once the swab was in his mouth and against his cheek. Freddie carefully plucked Beck's hair from his head, then put all the material into their appropriate containers. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Oliver."

Beck licked and smacked his lips, then moved his jaw from side to side. "I couldn't do the things this person did. This person's a monster, and nothing else. I'm just some asshole that screwed up a bunch of times. Could I be lying? That's up to you, I guess."

"We'll just see how the results come out."

"Am I being charged with anything right now?"

"No. Not yet. I wouldn't leave town anytime soon, though." Beck rolled his eyes. He looked towards his feet and raised his shoulders.

"I think I'll go ahead and hire myself an attorney while I can. Feel like I'm going to need one…" Beck looked up at Freddie with scorn and anger in his eyes. "I know how the cops focused on Jason and Ian when it came to the Vega girls. I know I'm just an easy target in regards to Lisa."

"Rest assured, Mr. Oliver. You are not the focus of the investigation just because you are an ex, you are a focus because there is a probable chance that you could be involved."

"Then why does my wife not talk to me? Does she think I had something to do with it?"

"Right now, there's a lot of people that could have had something to do with this." Freddie leaned over Beck's left shoulder and placed his hand firmly on the desk. "What we're trying to do is narrow that list down, and now we have a smaller group of people that could have been connected to both Lisa White and the Vega sisters."

"Well when was Lisa murdered? I'll give you an alibi." Freddie hummed thoughtfully and repeated the date and time of the murder. Beck ran his fingers over his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Okay that day is harder to remember, but I know what I was doing."

Freddie walked a slow pace to the other side of the table, shaking his head. "Sexual assault and murder one. Two more counts of murder in the first degree." Beck pulled his hand away with a sigh and looked up at Freddie. "It's not looking good for you, Mr. Oliver. I think the reason Jade isn't questioning you is because clearly you've lied to her for sixteen years, am I right?"

"No. I didn't lie to her about anything!" Beck ran his hand vigorously through his hair, growling out in annoyance. "I've lied to her about many things in the past, but I'm not lying about this."

"It's hard to trust someone who cheated, lied, played his girlfriend with one of her friends…" Freddie's mouth twisted into a frown and his eyes narrowed. "Gonna need that alibi."

Beck's eyes flew around the room as though searching for something. After several seconds, he snapped his fingers. "Gas. I was filling up with gas. I remember I had a job interview that I was on my way to. I paid inside-it was a Valero."

"Can you give me the name of the attendant?"

"It was Raul or Rafael, or something to that extent." Beck's nose scrunched and his eyes squinted. "He was about my height, had a Hindu accent. Dark black hair…I think it was on Glenwood or Glendale, up past the river."

"And this interview you were heading to?"

"A moving company on Seneca." Beck crossed his arms and exhaled roughly. "U-Haul. I spoke with Ronald Ace."

Jade remembered this now. It was one of the first places that Beck tried to find part time work at, and he was turned down because he didn't have certain criteria. There were discrimination laws in place, but employers didn't care much for students from Hollywood Arts-unless the employer was some sort of high powered agent that would rarely visit the location.

As she thought more on this alibi, she remembered Beck calling her and complaining how she forgot to fill the car with gas like he asked her to. He had to stop in to get gas and was almost late to the interview. As for the gas attendant, he complained as well that he'd given the man a twenty for seventeen dollars-worth of gas, and did not receive exact change.

The only problem was that she couldn't recall if this was on the day of Lisa's murder or another day.

Freddie straightened himself and nodded. "Alright Mr. Oliver. Where then were you the night of the Vega murders?" Jade pressed her hand to her chest and looked down at her wedding ring. The thought occurred to her that not many jewelers were open after midnight, and that fact could blow his alibi out the window.

The realization struck her like a sledgehammer, forcing her to her knees. "I was looking for an engagement ring for my wife."

"At night?"

"Yes. I was with Andre Harris all night, he said he knew a few places that would still be open." Beck shifted to the side and looked away with a scowl. "That guy had me running all over town, but it was worth it."

"You were with him all night?"

"Yes…I still have the receipt for the ring." Beck slouched and looked at the mirror with a guilty expression. "I was desperate, so much that I didn't care if it took me all night to find a place. I wanted to be with her, but we were still fighting over Lisa and over my having tried to kiss Tori some time before…I wanted her back, but she wouldn't take me unless I proved to her she was the only woman in my life. The way to do that, I saw, was to propose."

"Well then Mr. Oliver, we're going to need a list of all the shops you ran into that night." Beck's eyes darted over and he raised his hand up.

"Give me a pen and paper, and I'll write down what places I can remember."

After the interrogation, Beck was free to go and Jade hurried to meet with Freddie in the break room. Almost instantly she snapped at him, with her voice stabbing through the air. "You could have been a little less harsh than you usually are." He handed her a cup of coffee and smirked.

"Here. Drink, and relax." She loosened herself and carefully sipped the hot liquid. "I've gotten used to the whole bad cop routine. Are you alright?" She lowered the mug and stared down at the liquid.

The cup was hot to the touch, but her hands were so cold and shaky, that the heat assuaged her rather than burnt. "Yeah, I guess I just never thought my husband was going to be a suspect in a murder investigation."

The biggest reason she wasn't in that interrogation room was not that she requested it for the anxiety of having to interrogate her husband, but because she was close enough to the case and close enough to Beck that she wouldn't have been able to question him rationally and without blinders of some kind.

"I guess I shouldn't snap. You did what you were supposed to, asked the tough questions I wouldn't have been able to do." Beck would have broken her. She would have accused him and threw the entire interrogation out the window by doing so. "I know I should believe him."

Freddie drank his coffee, then pat her on the shoulder. "The thing is, Jade, we still don't know. Tech's running his DNA…"

She raised an eyebrow and spoke quickly. "But that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't do it. I mean, what if it wasn't assault? What if she did just have sex with a new boyfriend, and Beck killed her?" Her heart rate was increasing rapidly, and her hands were starting to tremble once more.

He leaned up against the counter and shook his head. "I want you to think very carefully about what you just said." Jade pursed her lips and stared down at her feet. She'd just accused Beck outright, and they didn't have any evidence to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was responsible. It was something no detective should do with a suspect unless they were one hundred percent certain that the suspect was responsible.

"Oh. I do sound like I expect it to be him, don't I? I just…can't think of who else could be involved."

"Because you're thinking on an emotional level, not as a detective." She took a deep breath and watched him set his mug on the counter. "Here." He gave her a friendly and comforting hug, then pat her on the back. "Go home and get some rest."

"I can't. I can't go home. I-I doubt my own husband, Freddie." A mist formed in her eyes as despair strangled her of her air. "I don't know-"

"Then stay with your parents for a bit. We'll solve this, Jade, but right now you need to clear your head. That's the most important thing…trust me, you can't solve this murder if your emotions are clouding your judgment."

He would know better than anyone, of course. She swallowed heavily and closed her eyes. "You're right." Her head shook and a single sob fell from her lips. "You're right. I'll get some rest, stay with my parents for a bit." Her eyes opened partially and she flashed a smile. "Andre's flying into California with his family for a visit, so that should be nice."

"Andre?" He raised an eyebrow and took another drink. "Should be nice to see an old friend, I suppose?"

"Yeah, it'll be nice to catch up."

"I thought Beck didn't approve; didn't like the guy?"

"They had a falling out, but Andre's still a friend. I've never had any trouble with him." This would be a good opportunity to question Andre as well, but she knew better than to do so alone. While she didn't feel like he had anything to do with either murder, just the statement he made over the phone was unsettling. "We may have to talk to Andre as well."

"What do you mean?"

"He said he continued to communicate with Lisa after Beck broke up with her. I didn't question him at the time, but I did suggest he visit. He called back yesterday and said he was flying into town in a few days."

"Good. We'll need him to confirm Beck's alibi, anyhow." Jade smiled vaguely and turned away from him. As her thoughts continued to spin wildly out of control, she found herself struggling to gain a foothold. "Jade, you found their bodies. You know Trina caused damage…did Beck appear hurt or injured in any way?"

"I…don't remember." She didn't think he was. While she was now picturing him with bruises and cuts on his face, she was fairly certain they weren't actually present. "I'm going to head home, and then, go to my parents' place."

"Be careful out there Jade."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>So the key suspect in the murder of Lisa White has been questioned. What's running through your mind this chapter?<p> 


	17. Chasing Justice, First and Foremost

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 17 (Chasing Justice First and Foremost)<p>

"Beck, I need to know this." Jade knew Freddie told her to leave it alone and get rest, but she was still in detective mode. Even now as she sat across the kitchen table from the man she thought she knew for twenty years, she had to keep pressing onwards. "What can you tell me about Lisa?"

A heavy lump grew in her throat. Her hands trembled and her eyes shut. Of course she knew what she was asking, and it was difficult as hell. She had to ask her own husband to tell her how his relationship with the girl he cheated on her with was like. "What-what do you know about her, about the people she hung around."

"Jesus Jade, really?" Beck put his hand to his face and sighed heavily. Jade was fully prepared to hear the standard 'the victim was a great person with their entire life ahead of them. "She was decent. Cared about her little brother and her father. Her father had this mental problem and was slipping more and more away."

"What drew you to her?"

"She just, I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair. His nervous eyes darted towards hers, and his shoulders fell. "Jade-"

"It's for the investigation, not me. I can't use what you tell me in court, but you could give details about the victim that may help investigators. You're a suspect because you're an ex." She bit her lip and curled her fingers into her palm. "And I have to distance myself from that." She blew out heavily and cleared her throat. "But you're an ex and you spent enough time with her that you know the victim."

"Jade, sweetheart, I do not want to do this to you."

"It's bad enough you're a suspect in a murder. I think I can handle hearing about your prior relationship." There were some things she never wanted to know about his affair, and some questions she never dared to ask. One of these questions was whether or not he was sexually active with Lisa.

Considering she never put out herself back then, and Beck was always pressuring her, she long suspected-and accused-him of having sex of with her. Of course, this accusation was never outward, but in her heart she always knew.

"Hell, if it helps catch the motherfucker that did that to her." Beck laced his fingers together and bowed his head, shaking his head slightly. "She hated being the other woman in relationship. For a time, I didn't tell her that. I lied to her, and then when she found out, I charmed my way into continuing the relationship…saying things I knew I wasn't going to keep my word on…"

"How long have you known her?"

"Several months. She was a student of Sherwood High. Tori introduced us." Her heart stopped and her jaw fell open. This was new information: a connection to another murder victim was always something to look at. "They were good friends before she transferred to Hollywood Arts. Tori was also upset when Lisa told her she and I were together…"

"I'm guessing that's how the victim discovered you were with someone else?"

"Yes." Her stomach dropped and she tried her best not to appear as emotionally shaken as she was. Beck looked her in the eyes and pressed his lips tightly together. "I…begged Tori not tell, told her I'd break it off with Lisa." She wanted to yell and berate him, but she had to remember the reason she was a homicide investigator.

As her idol in college, Detective Joe Kenda from _Investigation Discovery_ used to say in his show: There's one thing about a murder that always remains the same. A life has been taken.

This wasn't about her, it wasn't about Beck. It was about the victim. A life had been ended abruptly, snuffed out and stolen not only from the victim but from those that knew and cared for that person.

"Beck, I want you to think real clearly. Was there anyone you can think of that might have wanted to hurt Lisa? Was she involved in anything? Drugs, alcohol, sex?" She let the last word fall softly from her lips. Beck tensed, and his brow furrowed.

"You should understand, she was Catholic, so she didn't like having an affair. She was afraid it was a sin and all that. But she went to church every week, read the scripture…she was nice and friendly to everybody, so I can't think she had any enemies. Still, it was easy for people to…" He sighed heavily and moved his hand over his eyes. "People took advantage of her kindness. She was easy for people to manipulate. She had a tendency to let people talk her into things she didn't really want to do. I tried to help her assert herself a little more, to speak out and defend herself."

Jade straightened her back, knowing easily what he meant. "Do you think she might have rejected somebody that would not have handled rejection well?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what she was up to in those two months after breaking up with her. I know Andre was into her." Beck's sore expression turned to a virulent sneer, and his eyes narrowed. "Like every girl I was with, he wanted to move in on them. I don't think he made a move on her, though. I doubt it, and I certainly doubt she would have let him."

"What makes you say that?"

"She was pretty angry during the last few weeks of the affair. She blamed me for a lot of the crap she was dealing with in her life-her friends found out she was in the middle of an affair so they stopped talking to her. Her congregation was giving her those judgmental holier-than-thou looks, and she was just getting more and more stressed. She told me she didn't want to have a relationship with anybody at this point, going so far as to tell me to go to hell."

"Did Andre hang out often with you and Lisa?"

"Yes. For about a month or two before the breakup, he was almost always around."

Jade reached up and set her fingertips to her right temple, sighing heavily as she tried to figure out what connection Lisa and Tori could have with their killer. Based on Robbie's eyewitness account, Tori was furious over Lisa's murder and knew her killer well enough to confront him, yet she was terrified of the man and easily unnerved by the threat to her life

"So Lisa White is murdered two months after breaking up with you, then just a short time later Tori is murdered for what she knew. What she found out. Trina was killed for doing what she'd done all her life, trying to protect her sister…an innocent bystander that knew nothing of Lisa's murder, I assume, or of her sister's knowledge regarding it."

What horrified her even more was the gut feeling that the assailant was someone she had to know on a personal feeling. Somewhere along the way, she wondered if she was to blame for the Vega sisters' deaths. After all, it was likely that she and Beck had introduced the girls to the very person that would snuff out their lives.

"Jade, I promise you, I did not kill Lisa White and I had absolutely nothing to do with the Vega murders."

"I can't be sure." She still had to see the evidence, and she still needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Beck had nothing to do with it. "I know you're guilty of having an affair, and maybe even having sex with the girl…" Beck's eyes closed and he turned his head an inch to the right.

Her heart dropped into her stomach and the room grew very still. Jade watched him closely, and a shiver ran down her spine. "Jade, I'm sorry. I-I really."

"No. Don't, Beck, just don't." She pushed herself slowly from the table and then grabbed her purse from the counter. Without a single word, she started for the door. Tears welled up in her eyes as she contemplated what she would do, but she had no idea. All she could do was what Freddie told her; get out of the house and take a break.

"Jade, where are you going?" She pushed open the door and closed her eyes, ignoring as her husband called out to her. "Jade, please. It was sixteen years ago, it's in the past."

She stopped in the doorway, frustrated and angry that he would even suggest such a thing. "Yes it's been sixteen years, but Beck, it's not past." She spun around and he flinched the minute her eyes dug in on him. "An innocent girl is _dead_. Three girls have been _murdered_, lives destroyed and families broken up. Until this is solved, it is most certainly not in the past!"

Considering the late hour, Jade's parents would be asleep. As they got older, they began sleeping at earlier times and now went to bed at ten o'clock on most nights. She didn't want to run to them now anyhow. Since they didn't like Beck, telling them of the argument would be one of those moments where they unintentionally make things worse.

By the time she arrived at Freddie's home, she was in a fit of hysteria. Freddie was clearly getting ready for bed, since the only glow in the house was the lamp in his living room and he was dressed up in a dark blue robe that covered up a white shirt and blue flannel pants.

"Jade?" She pushed past her exhausted coworker and looked to the television. The national media was going on about a serial killer in the southeastern states.

"He's lying." She turned to Freddie, watching him yawn. "Maybe not about Lisa, but he's hiding something. I just know it."

"Who?"

"Beck." She pushed her hands through her hair, groaning as the news report distracted her thoughts. Seeing the distress, Freddie picked up the television remote and struck the mute button.

Jade furrowed her brow and frowned at the screen. There were several photos of young women. "They'll never get closure," Jade whispered, "The families of those girls." Freddie picked up a glass of water and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." It was the sad truth of murder investigations. Finding the killer of murder, locking them away, it was an end but not closure. The friends and family of a victim always grieve for the loss, even twenty or thirty years later. "Hope they find the guy, but we have our own cases to worry about."

"It makes me think about Tori and about Trina, you know?" She studied the faces of the victims on the screen, finally beginning to relax after her conversation with Beck. It was a strange feeling that seeing something like this would serve as a calming factor.

"All young, all beautiful and in the prime of their life. Cut down like they meant nothing." Each victim had to be college aged, though the youngest looked to be a teenager. They all had light complexions and medium to dark brown hair. All the victims had the same color eyes. Just like Tori and Trina, just like Lisa, but unrelated of course. "We haven't dealt with a serial killer yet, and I hope we never do."

"Most likely we have. Working homicide, eventually you run across them. Just nothing like the magnitude that they're reporting down in the southeastern states. That guy's been active for at least ten years."

He was right; in all likelihood they had dealt with serial killers before that were on a smaller scale. In society, the public is rightfully terrified by the sheer mention of serial killers. The mention of one means they picture someone like Ted Bundy, Gacy, or the Boston Strangler.

The truth of the matter was it takes much less for a person to be a serial killer, but it didn't make them any less of a monster.

By definition a serial killer simply meant a person who had killed two or more people at separate times and in different locations over an extended period of time.

Jade leaned her head back, thinking on the case they were working on. Three victims, but two were at the same time and the same place. "Oh. Maybe we are dealing with a serial killer…but I don't know. I'd say mass murder, but if Lisa is connected to the Vega murders as Robbie's statement suggests…"

Mass murder was different in scope of a serial killer, and both were different than a spree. The definitions of a mass murder were simple: Same place, same time, multiple victims. A spree killer was referred to the same time, different places, multiple victims. Serial killers were just the most difficult because everything was different.

"Anyway, you said you think Beck's hiding something?" Jade looked over and bowed her head as Freddie took a drink of his water. He lowered the glass and sighed softly. "I thought I suggested you get some rest and not focus on your husband's possible involvement in the case?"

"Yeah you did, but I don't know. I had to know something…you know, he had sex with her. I know he did." She swept her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. Every muscle in her body was aching from the stress that was slowly spiraling out of control. "I can't even look at him, can't even think about him right now."

Freddie pressed his lips together and walked over to a small table behind his couch. "Well, I was going over some files after getting off tonight." He picked up the folder on the table. "DNA came back regarding the semen found on Lisa White, as well as the blood and hair samples from the Vega murders."

Her eyes fixated on the folder and her heart sank into her stomach. "Oh." She didn't want to hear them, but knew she needed to. "Ran the results against Beck, right? What…what was found?"

Jade could feel the air in the room being swept away. Her terror only increased when Freddie opened the folder. "DNA results were inconclusive." Her hand flew to her chest, and her legs were nearly swept out from under her. "It isn't a sign of innocence and it doesn't rule him out as a potential suspect, but at the very least he did not have any kind of intercourse with Lisa White on the day of her murder, and he did not get into a fight with Trina Vega on the night of her death."

"So what doesn't rule him out entirely?"

"The gun." Jade lowered her hand slowly and Freddie made his way over, showing her the report. "Investigators found the gun he lost on the hunting trip. It was placed in the hole of a tree…they ran ballistics."

As she read the results, she cupped a hand over her mouth, catching a sudden sob. The ballistic reports came back as a match, the bullets fired from Beck's gun were the same bullets found in the bodies of Tori and Trina Vega.

Unable to stand, Jade stumbled to the couch and collapsed into a fit of tears. Freddie moved behind the couch and placed a careful hand to her shoulder. Eventually she looked up at him, questioning the results silently.

"It doesn't make him the killer, Jade. We still don't know. We know that Lisa White was murdered with a gun found inside her home, hence the reason investigators were so quick to rule her death a suicide."

The fact of the matter was while the DNA didn't match Beck, his gun was the murder weapon. "H-How do you we explain the gun?"

"Remember, Beck said his father's gun went missing around the time of the murders." As suspicious and convenient as it was, it still didn't explain why Beck would have hidden the gun and claimed to have lost it. Something was fishy about this entire scenario, and whether or not her husband was involved, she had to figure out what it was.

Could Beck have handed someone his father's gun and had them commit the murders? Could the gun have truly been stolen by somebody and used to commit the crime?

She had to examine all possible scenarios, including the possibility of Beck having been framed. "I don't think the cases have anything to do with the 'Seaside Killer' they're talking about at the murders over there." Freddie sat beside her and motioned to his television. "But one thing happening there that I might consider a possible link here because it does happen; each victim of that killer was found dead with a murder weapon that linked back to a friend or family member they knew. Lisa White was murdered with her dad's gun, the Vega girls were killed with a gun owned by Beck's father at the time."

"Yeah…"

"As for now." Freddie pat her on the knee, then rose from the couch. "It's late. If you don't want to go back home, you can stay in the guest room tonight."

She smiled at him and swept her hair over her shoulders. "I appreciate that." She had no intention of going back home tonight, especially not with all the doubts and fears spinning through her head.

Freddie turned off the television and started for the hallway entrance, pausing only to look over his shoulder. "Maybe take a shower before you get to bed and relax. For all we know, your husband may only be guilty of having an affair sixteen years ago." An affair that could very well have gotten three people killed, but she understood what Freddie was trying to tell her.

"I'll try and separate myself from this." No human being could emotionally separate themselves from a murder investigation, but somehow she had to press ahead and not let the possibility of Beck's guilt keep her from getting justice for the three girls that had been murdered in cold blood. "If Beck is involved in this, in any way…I will arrest my husband as I would arrest any other killer…"

"I know. That's what makes you a good investigator. It's _always _about the victim, so don't hold back, and you never do." She curled a smile and watched him depart into the hallway.

Once again he was right. Beck was no different than any other murder suspect in any other homicide investigation, and she needed to treat him as such in order to obtain justice for Lisa, for Tori and Trina, but not just them. For Richard, for Rachel, Jason, and the Vega parents.

Justice would prevail one way or another. To her right she saw Freddie had left the murder file on the couch. She slowly reached for it and lifted her eyes up to the hallway. A quick refresher on the case would be helpful for her, and a crucial distraction from her connection to one of the key suspects.

* * *

><p>So we've learned a lot of new information here. What are your thoughts and observations here? What stood out to you?<p> 


	18. A Suspect's Whereabouts

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 18 (A Suspect's Whereabouts)<p>

Barely awake and ignoring the sunlight trying to pierce through her eyelids, Jade's mind was already on the murder investigations. She was thinking back to Robbie's statement, wondering about the accuracy of his witness report.

During the entire conversation, his body language didn't give any reason for her to disbelieve him. Over the years she learned to tell how someone was lying to her. Such as being unable to sit still, or tapping their foot on the ground repeatedly, and avoiding eye contact.

So far most people she spoke with were still, calm, and truthful. It may be important to question some of them again, but because of Robbie's witness account, she wanted to see the security footage of the parking lot and she wanted to see it now.

Her eyes opened when a familiar warm scent struck her. Food. Jade left the bedroom slowly and shuffled into the kitchen. She knew Beck probably wasn't happy that she never came home last night, but she figured he'd understand it. "Freddie? What are you making?"

Freddie was at the stove, wearing similar attire to what he had last night. "Omelets." The man looked over his shoulder and furrowed his brow. "Did you sleep in your clothes?"

"Yeah, I don't have anything else, obviously." She smiled softly and looked towards the skillet. He cooked the standard way, with the egg taking over the pan and the meat placed on top. She could see ham, sausage, cheese and jalapenos. "You do a lot of cooking?"

"Of course." He folded the omelet and looked at her as though she'd asked an insane question. "Pays better to cook in than eat out all the time." He slipped the omelet on a plate and reached for the eggs beside the stove. "You want one?"

"Yes please." He grabbed two eggs and proceeded to crack them on the skillet. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"I figure we'll run those jewelry stores Beck ran through that night. I'm certain some places aren't open any longer, but the owner or cashiers working at that time are likely to have something."

"Well, one thing Beck's really anal about is saving things and keeping records." Before she actually left last night, and when she was already planning to leave, Jade made sure to grab some items she felt could be useful. "In the car, I've got a box of old receipts that he kept. In there is the receipt for the ring he bought me."

"Well, that's helpful." They could establish a time frame. According to Robbie, the man in the sweats left some time around midnight. Jason left for work a while after, giving Trina a kiss goodbye at the door

Also according to Robbie, he left the parking lot himself and felt compelled to return to lot some time later. He said he saw their door wide open and approached with caution. He heard gunfire, and like a coward, he ran. What this meant was that Robbie not only witnessed Tori's fight with her killer, but he may have witnessed the murder itself and instead of being concerned for his friends, was so in fear of his own life that he took off into the night.

"I want to see the parking lot security footage," Jade said quietly, "I want to see what that apartment complex has." She leaned over the counter and placed her right hand over her left. "If we can get a physical description of that killer, we'll finally have _something_ that hasn't been there before. I just wonder why we didn't have it before."

"Investigators zeroed in on one suspect and because there was no evidence of forced entry, they had no reason to believe a struggle took place outside." Freddie set the second omelet on a plate and turned to face her, shrugging in the process. "Original investigators didn't order security footage to view."

"Then we will."

"There's something that I've been curious about, though." He handed her a plate and walked towards the kitchen table. "If the sisters left their door locked at all times, and both of them knew there was a conflict going on with a particular individual, then why would they allow that individual in the house just hours later? Why open the door? What compelled them to make that fatal error? The safest thing was that door; the only thing that stood between them and the killer…"

"Someone they were comfortable with. That's the only thing I can think of." At the time, there weren't a lot of people that the girls knew well enough to open the door for at three o'clock in the morning. "Family. Close friends. Somewhere in there, but no strangers."

"I was looking at the door while we were at the scene." He cut a portion of his omelet and stabbed it with his fork. "The door to apartment is incredibly thick, and the hinges are so powerful that it would take great force to break in. There is a chain lock, then one of those metal bolt locks, and finally the lock on the doorknob himself."

Freddie brought his bite to his lips, then slid his fork away slowly. He looked at Jade with a curious hum. "Two college aged girls, trained to always lock the door no matter what, paranoid and frightened by earlier fights…every single lock that door has is going to be on. Their senses are heightened. Not even Trina's fiancé is going to be getting through that door without those girls waiting for a fight."

She straightened herself and her lips parted. "Yeah you're right, they're expecting a fight at this point. Tori's already had a confrontation with the killer, then their dad shows up in a drunken rage. Tori's on edge and that puts Trina on edge even more. Rachel's in the living room crib, probably crying."

"Any of their friends or family that shows up at three in the morning better have a damned good reason for being there, because at this point, who in that apartment is likely to jump the next person that enters that house?"

"Trina."

"So." Freddie furrowed his brow and squinted his eyes. "Why and how did the killer get Tori all the way to the bedroom before Trina came in? Then, why was there no struggle? Are both of the girls awake at this point?"

"There's no struggle, no fight, because whoever opened that door trusted whoever was on the other end." She had to assume Tori opened the door, because Freddie was correct in that Trina would not have let a single soul in that night.

Unlike Tori's bed, the sheets on the bed in Trina's room were disturbed as though someone had been asleep and the sheets were thrown off violently. This was consistent with somebody waking up to a disturbance and rushing to somebody's aid.

"What if Tori was in the living room, looking after her niece? She had a frantic personality, she wouldn't be able to sleep after the outbursts from people that night. From what I can recall, Trina would often try to sleep off stress, getting frequent migraines and headaches from an overabundance of stress."

"Alright. So here's what we can assume then. Trina goes off to sleep off the stress, leaving Tori to look after Rachel since she can't sleep because of her stress." Jade pursed her lips and listened eagerly. She was picturing the scene unfolding in her head, and it made sense to her. "Someone she knows, someone she trusts, knocks on her door. She opens it."

"Then it becomes a matter of who was killed first. Tori or Trina? Tori was led into the bedroom. Unless she was so scared that she didn't scream, you can bet she screamed."

Considering Tori was shot twice, Jade had to wonder if it could be probable that the second shot came after the fight with Trina. Still, there was a sinking feeling that somebody else could have been involved whether a willing participant or not.

"Freddie, I can't think of anyone that she would have let inside the house. Andre, maybe, but he was with Beck all night. Those two are essentially each other's alibi."

"Let's go check out those jewelry shops, then."

The list that Beck had given bore seven shops that they ran across during the night, with each on a different part of Los Angeles. The first shop on the list had gone out of business, but the owner was still in town.

"Yes I remember them," Todd Greyson answered while studying the photograph of Beck and Andre. "They came in roughly around nine or ten." Todd's shop was on the west end of the city, and approximately ten miles away from the apartment. "This guy, the lighter one said he couldn't see anything he was interested in, so they left."

Some of the receipts in Beck's box from that night showed that he stopped at a late night diner to get a plate of food. It was about a mile away from the Vega apartment.

A server that had been there that night confirmed his alibi. Her name was Betty Franklin. "I remember him." She pointed to Beck's photo and tilted her head to the side. "Just him, around midnight I think? Maybe a little before."

The timestamp on the receipt read _11:48_

"If I'm remembering correctly, he had a hamburger, fries and a shake." Jade and Freddie exchanged a suspicious look. Something, or more accurately, someone was missing from Betty's account.

"Was there anybody with him?" Freddie asked. Betty blinked a couple of times and handed the photo back, shaking her head.

"No sir. It was just him. I remember because he was the only customer in there that night."

"Did you notice anything suspicious about him? Can you recall what he was wearing?"

The woman squinted hard and scratched beneath her chin. Jade could see she was struggling, yet this woman's memory seemed good enough that she could remember exactly what Beck had been eating. "He seemed agitated about something. I didn't ask. As for what he was wearing, I don't remember. I think it was a shirt and jeans."

Jade snapped her fingers and let her head fall back against the wall. It was both frustrating and a relief that the woman couldn't remember the outfit Beck was wearing. The frustrating part came because it meant they weren't any closer to finding out who killed the sisters.

"After a while he did appear calm and quiet, so I made small talk and he mentioned looking last minute for a ring so he could propose to his girlfriend. I suggested a place that might be open…"

This was the second place on Beck's list; a jewelry store that was still in business but had since ceased its after-hours slot. The clerk said he remembered seeing Beck and Andre around 12:20. They were on foot. The prices were too high for Beck.

At approximately 1:00 they reached their third destination. The owner of the business noted that 'the intimidating guy' looked ready to blow up at any minute. The man had such a chilling glare that the clerk was afraid the two men might attempt to rob him, so he asked them to leave.

Eventually Jade and Freddie got to the seventh and final store, the one with the receipt showing the time of purchase for the ring to be about 5:10 in the morning. "I was about to close my doors and go home," the clerk informed them, "When in walks this gentleman looking to buy a ring for his girlfriend."

Jade leaned against the wall of the store and crossed her arms. She stared curiously at the white haired man behind the counter. The fact that he didn't mention Andre was a minor concern, since she figured he left to go home by this time.

"He seemed very anxious." The man scratched at his white stubble and brought his eyebrows together. "I mean he was shaking like a leaf, and kept saying he wanted to get ring right. He had to get the right ring for his girlfriend, absolutely terrified of getting the wrong ring."

"Did he mention why?" She inquired. This was news to her. Beck never mentioned any sort of distress in finding the ring. The man shook his head and shrugged.

"He said he'd been to a few other places, so I just assumed he was tired from looking."

"Did you notice anything else off about him? Bruising or cuts?"

The man straightened his back and started to hum. "Now that you mention it…" Jade held her breath and watched Freddie turn towards her. "I do remember he had this bruise on the side of his face that he kept touching. Other than that, no cuts or anything else, so I didn't think anything of it."

"Alright, well thank you for your cooperation." It was going to be important to talk to Beck now and get his take on this alleged bruise and how it got there. She was very interested in his mental state that night.

If he was shaky and nervous, then why would he be? Was it guilt or just nervous jitters about an upcoming proposal. She needed to know, and now she felt like she was growing closer to the truth.

* * *

><p>Something's suspicious. Beck's alibi appears to check out but as you see, there were changes as the night wore on. Also he was not with Andre all night, and that rings suspicious as well, I'm sure. As you went along what was going through your mind?<p> 


	19. Critical

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 19 (Critical)<p>

Reviewing camera footage was long as it was tedious, because you have to review every minute and every second of that tape. Jade and Freddie had to spend a majority of the afternoon reviewing to see what disturbances occurred. "Don't we have tech people to do this?" Freddie asked while sipping from a coffee mug.

Jade shrugged, still eyeing the greyed footage closely. "I need to see this for myself. If it's one of our suspects, if it's someone that I know or knew, I'll recognize them." Yes, Robbie didn't recognize the person arguing with Tori, but he wasn't close enough to gain to total recognition.

Unfortunately, the security camera wasn't close enough to the Vega apartment door either, and certainly not pointed directly at the door.

It was the unreliability of camera footage that Jade knew all too well. Very rarely did she trust footage, and this was one of those occasions. The way the camera was positioned had the doors of the complex in a semi diagonal form. The best shot was of the parking lot, not the doors, so Trina's apartment was close to the rightmost bottom corner.

Finally after several coffee cups later, she spotted something that indicated movement. "Freddie, look there." She pointed to the screen, and sure enough, a man in a bulky hood and brown sweats was walking towards Trina's apartment. His back, however, was to the camera. "Can't get a clear picture of his face."

"Heavy build." Freddie scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. This man began to pound the door. Jade leaned forward to get a clearer shot of the man's hand. It was black, but that was the color of a glove on his hand.

She continued the video with a heavy sigh and watched Tori exit the apartment. Tori was visibly angry, her body looked rigid and her brow was tense. Seeing Tori moving and alive was a tremendous shock to Jade. It hurt because it reminded her just how much she missed her friend, and how long it had been since she last saw the girl alive.

The memory of Tori's smile flashed through her mind, followed by the image of Trina watching them from the stairs of their former family home. They moved in slow motion, as if it was a memory. Tori's laugh was but an echo.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her from this trance. Freddie looked at her with concern and she flashed a smile. "Sorry. It's just been a long time."

"I know."

The video continued on and the man left. Tori remained outside with Trina's arms around her for several minutes. The girl dropped to her knees, pushing her hand up against her face and looked to be screaming while sobbing. Trina rocked with her.

Jade's stomach churned with bile as she watched the scene. She wanted to reach out, to have been there to comfort the girls.

Eventually David showed up, swaying from side to side and clutching a bottle of whiskey in his hand. There was a heated argument with Trina, and the fight lasted for some time until the elder sister shoved the man out of the door.

Sometime later the hooded man returned, but this time he wasn't alone. Jade's heart sank and she leaned forward, trying to get a shot of the second man. He was being held with a gun to the back of his head, but at the same time, there was a shirt that had been thrown over him.

"No, we can't identify him." She clutched her chest and growled in frustration as this second man began pounding on the door as though he were in fear of his life. The hooded figure was up against the wall, out of view when Tori opened the door.

It hit Jade that she was witnessing the first step to the death of the girls, and it hit as though someone struck her with a ton of cement. Her pulse increased as Tori let the man inside.

Before the apartment door could close, the hooded figure slid his foot between the door and the frame. Jade's breath caught in her throat and a whimper fell from her lips.

"Jade, maybe our tech guys can get a better identification than we can. There has to be something."

"Two people, Freddie. There are two people." She gasped and slid her hands through her hair. "I can't…there are two people. A gap of time Beck and Andre aren't accounted for. Freddie-"

"It's okay, it's going to be okay. Just be calm, try. For the girls, you have to try." She nodded frantically and turned away from the screen, unable and unwilling to view anymore for the moment. "We need to think, but we need to do it on a clear head."

"I know, I know." She curled her hands atop her knees and bowed her head. "If that second person is Beck, he's known about this for sixteen years." It was hindering a police investigation, it could be cover up as well. Accessory to murder or even accomplice. "The important thing is we find out who the person in the hood is and who that second person was."

"Accomplice if he took part in the murder. Aside from his gun, we have no evidence to tie him to the scene of either crime. We may want to talk to your father-in-law however, to corroborate the stolen gun theory."

"Alright, we'll do that posthaste." She couldn't believe the path this investigation had her on, and for her it was hard thinking that investigators might have solved this a long time ago if they broadened their horizon and looked beyond Jason or Ian.

Her breath grew shallow in a moment of realization, and her heart began to sink. "Oh god, Freddie…" He looked at her with concern and Jade brought two fingers up to her forehead. "If my husband was responsible, if he was involved, then all these years-Jason, Rachel. Lindsay. What will I tell them?"

"The truth. _If_ that's the case. You weren't involved directly, and I'm fairly certain those people will understand that."

"Yeah. Yeah, I hope you're right."

The elevator doors clicked and they looked up to see them opening. When Andre stepped out, her heart stopped. The man was wearing the same outfit he was in the photo that she'd seen of him, the right corner of his mouth was pulled up and his lips were separated enough to reveal his teeth.

"What are you doing here?" Jade stood up slowly, her eyes scanned his body for any sign of trouble. Of course the police downstairs wouldn't have let him up if he was carrying anything, but she was just surprised to see him. "Has your flight already come in?"

Freddie tensed up and watched him with a protective eye. "Of course," Andre replied casually, "I thought I'd surprise my old friend. Homicide division, all I had to do was ask around."

"You look like you haven't aged a day." He was much thinner looking than she remembered him to be. Time changed all of them. "You came at a fairly good time, we were just looking over the Vega-White murders. They're connected."

"You didn't bring your family with you?" Freddie inquired. Andre shrugged and pointed his thumb over his shoulder as if his family were behind him.

"They're still at the hotel." He looked up at the television where the news was covering the Seaside Killer in the southeastern states. His smile faded and the features around his eyes softened. "God I'm glad to get my girls out of there. I wish they'd get that guy."

"Yeah." Jade straightened her back and looked to the media coverage. The reason the killer got his name was because at some point he'd 'upgraded' to moving his victims to the a nearby docking port and it was there he'd assault them before murdering them with a weapon obtained from the victim. "Nothing we can do about it, since it's out of our jurisdiction."

"Right. Everyone in that area is terrified. Taylor says I shouldn't worry, though, because the media released some other information. Evidently the victims all have a boyfriend or husband that look similar to one another."

This was true according to the reports she'd read. The Seaside Killer targeted women who were married or dating someone with long, dark brown hair. The man usually had tanned skin, was often thin and limber but in good shape.

When she first read the reports, she thought it was amusing that those victims resembled her own husband to a degree. Unfortunately when making that joke, it terrified Beck enough to make him rule on never traveling to the east coast.

"Anyway Andre, I know you just got here but I'd like to ask you a few questions." Andre's eyebrow rose and he shrugged.

"Alright, I'm game. I guess this is the welcoming party for an old friend?" He chuckled at her and looked from left to right. "So where's the interrogation room?"

"Right this way."

Her mind was still on the serial killer, now that he got her thinking about it. A common profile of serial killers was that they knew police procedures, they hung around police enough to be considered 'friendly' with them.

Still, the Seaside Killer was not important to her investigation in any way whatsoever, so she fought the curiosity away.

They sat Andre down in the interrogation room and Jade sat across from him, smiling pleasantly. Andre reclined in his chair, slung his left elbow over the top and tapped his right fingers one-by-one on the table.

His shoulders were relaxed and his expression was serene. "It really is good to see you after all these years, Jade. How is Beck?"

"Beck's doing well. Unfortunately he's come under some suspicion regarding his alibi the night of Tori's and Trina's death." Andre frowned and pulled his left arm down. "You were with him, we were hoping you could shed some light on a few discrepancies."

"Of course, anything for an old friend." He laced his fingers together and looked into her eyes, full of concern and certainty. "I'll tell you what I can remember."

"Well at approximately eleven, he was seen at a diner by himself." This actually meant that he could not have been the man in the hoodie, because there wasn't enough time for Beck to have left the diner to confront Tori and be back. "Many jewelers recall seeing him throughout the night, but he was getting more and more agitated. One of them said the two of you appeared combative. Can you explain that?"

"Yes. We were getting into an argument that night because he was exhausted." Andre leaned back slowly and raised his eyebrows. "None of the stores had exactly what he was looking for, what he wanted."

Freddie wrote down the record of what Andre was saying, but because original investigators never spoke with either Beck or Andre, they had nothing to compare statements with.

"He got really mad when I suggested we stop and look for rings another time. He wanted a ring _that night_ and he wasn't going to stop. Around three or four in the morning, we got into a fist-fight, I hit him and left."

"What about the diner? The waitress didn't remember seeing you there."

"That's when we started bickering. He went to one restaurant, I hung around a nearby Valero and had a bite to eat there. I went back there after the last fight with Beck." She pulled her head back and swept her hair over her ear. Andre's story was a compelling one, and he appeared honest, but the Valero was questionable.

There was only one Valero in that area, and that night, Ross was busy holding it up for money.

She watched him closely, slanting her eyes and flaring her nostrils. _"He's not lying is he? No, maybe he's misremembering. That happens after an extended period of time."_ Andre brought his right hand up to his mouth and began biting at the nail on his forefinger. "Andre, is it true that you hung around Lisa White after she broke up with Beck?"'

"Huh?" He lowered his hand and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but after about a month I stopped hanging around her."

"Okay. Another question as well. Beck says you spent a lot of time with his family. Is this true?"

"On occasion I would ask his dad to take me on their hunting trips, and the man was always eager to invite me." Andre reclined and pulled his hands behind his head, sighing heavily as his eyes dropped to the table. "Beck never liked it. So angry, he always was. He would accuse me of trying to steal his life and all that."

"Steal his life?"

"Yes. After what happened between me and you, Beck was livid when he found out." From what she remembered, Andre's account was fairly accurate. Beck was enraged, but not at her, he was too busy pounding out the walls and cursing Andre. "He said to me that his parents weren't my parents, his girlfriend wasn't mine, and told me to leave his family alone.

Andre's frown increased and he brought his hands to his chest. "It was an honest mistake, I never meant to cause trouble."

"This is another procedural question," Freddie interrupted. Andre looked up at him and the man started to approach. "Everyone that knew Lisa White, we're asking for a sample of their DNA. You're not being charged and you're not a suspect _at this point_, but this is procedure."

"Nah." Andre dismissed with a wave and flashed a smile. "I never had sex with Lisa, we weren't like that. If I'm not even a suspect, I don't feel a need to give my DNA for anything." Jade frowned and looked at Freddie.

That was it, they couldn't obtain a sample if he said no. "Alright then." Freddie crossed his arms and shrugged. "You say you did not see Miss White up to a month before her murder, but we still need to know your whereabouts for the day and time of death."

"I was with Robbie. We were trying to fix that dumb puppet of his." Andre scratched his chin and after several seconds, snapped his fingers. "Rex. That's right. Rex had a loose arm and splintered limbs from getting hit by some car. I was helping to repair it."

"We'll check on that." Freddie moved to the other side of Jade and looked at his pad. "You claim to have been at Valero around the time of the Vega murders, however it was busy being robbed at the time."

"Yeah, that guy…what was his name?" Andre closed his eyes. The skin around his eyes tensed and a small V formed in the middle of his forehead. "Ross something or other. The guy that was robbing that place. I'm certain he saw me there, I was hiding in the back."

Jade smirked and Freddie shook his head. If Andre was telling the truth, good, but Ross seemed to indicate he only saw the cashier. They would check, and if she knew the man, he wasn't going to like his name being used in a lie.

Witnessing an armed robbery was very difficult to remember incorrectly, especially if the witness was seen by the robber.

"Good," Jade said under her breath, "Ross just got released on parole. I think he'll be happy to tell us what he saw that night." Andre's eyebrows rose and he shrugged.

The door to the interrogation room slid open and Jade lifted her head with a start. A police officer poked his head in and turned a somber gaze to her. "Detectives? A word?"

She furrowed her brow and stepped outside with the officer. Freddie followed after her. "What is it?"

"Your husband. He's in the hospital." Her heart stopped and an anxious, nervous feeling started to come over her. Beck was a perfectly fit and healthy person, so she couldn't see why he'd be in the hospital for any reason that would make a police officer notify her. "He's in ICU."

Those were the words she didn't want to hear; ICU was the intensive care unit. It was a place where many people in critical condition went to, and if Beck was there, it meant something terrible happened to him. "Critical?" Her knees began to buckle and Freddie caught her before she fell.

He looked to the officer, demanding to know Beck's status. Jade couldn't muster the words to say and was beginning to feel faint. "He is in critical condition, but he's in a comatose state right now. He's been shot."

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><p>Here we go. Yes it's a devastating cliffhanger, I know. So, three important things here. One, the security footage, two Andre's statement and now what happened to Beck. What are your thoughts here? What do you think of the footage? What about Andre's arrival and Beck's shooting? Coincidence? Andre spoke quite a bitWell, stick around


	20. Time Limit

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: I feel I must answer a question posed by an anonymous reviewer on chapter 8 just today...though they may not make it this far (As a suggestion to any anon reader, if you do happen to have an account and have a serious question, please sign in and ask or at least put your user name down so I can reach you without doing this). So, usual readers go ahead and continue on to the chapter-unless you want to read the answer to the anon reviewer.

Either way.: _yes_ I shipped Seddie at one time (Still sorta do, but it's complicated) but that doesn't exactly tie into this story. Or it does but it's really a backseat. Um, but the nature of your statement as well...Sam has been dead for over 8 years, and Freddie knows that. He's got nothing to confess to her and he's not crazy. Also, Fawn Liebowitz is in prison and yeah she bears a strong likeness to Sam, but for Freddie to run up to her confessing something in regards to feelings would not only be a little out of place, but uncharacteristic for him, and a little on the crazy side. For that to be applicable at all it would make more sense if it were Melanie, but she doesn't show up here and Freddie is _long past_ pining over Sam. So even if there were a case of mistaken identity, I don't see him running up and calling this person Sam. After 8 years Freddie has definitely come to terms with her death. Usually the stage of grief where you see fleeting glimpses of a person or mistake similiar looking people for said person occurs early on. He's gone beyond that stage of grief. Though the true acceptance of death comes when he is able to look into the eyes of the person truly responsible for her murder and seeing when that person doesn't care, decides he's no longer going to waste his energy on any grief.

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><p>Chapter 20 (Time Limit)<p>

_"Please have fought."_ It was all that was on Jade's mind as she ran through the hospital hall. Freddie remained in pursuit, ordering anyone to get out of the way while also calling for Jade to slow down. She knew it was bad to run, but she had to get to her husband. She needed to know Beck was alive.

Once she burst into the room, she saw everyone there that she expected. Jason, Lindsay, Rachel were present. Beck's parents were there, and finally Ryan. When she didn't see Vanessa, she started to worry, but figured she might have stepped out in the hall or something; hard as it was to see her own father in such a state.

Beck had a bandage around his head, and a pad that covered his left eye. His hair had been shaved for surgery. The heart monitor was beeping steadily, which brought a breath of relief to Jade.

It wasn't uncommon for people to survive gunshot wounds to the head, but it was still a rarity. The doctor approached her upon seeing the detective badge on her chest. "Detective Oliver, your husband is a lucky man. He's made it through surgery, but his condition is still critical." Jade sniffed heavily and approached her husband.

The room was silent, and all eyes were frozen on her. Perhaps they were expecting her to break down, or maybe they were trying to figure out what she would do next. "Was it self-inflicted?" She wiped away her tears, but keeping a strong composure was a struggle. "Doctor?"

"I'm afraid not." The pain in her chest flared up and her right hand flew over her mouth. "The bullet tore through his temple at just the right angle to miss his brain." Another officer in the room approached her and she immediately went into detective mode.

It was the only way she could push aside the idea that somebody tried to murder her own husband.

"Who called it in?" She knew the suspect list was broad as the assailant could be anybody she locked up over the last decade. Beck had his enemies as well, but they were far and fewer than those who would do this to get back at her.

"Your son." Her eyes widened and she looked at Ryan. His head was bowed, his body trembling, and sobs were belting from his lips. "He says he heard a fight and was hiding in his bedroom until the shot rang out. He called the police moments before, so paramedics arrived on the scene fast enough to get your husband stabilized."

"I see. Did you find anything missing from the house?"

"Yes. Your spare gun." They had a third gun kept in the house should she lose her weapon somehow. It was also for extra emergencies. The entire department knew she owned multiple weapons, it was required that they know. "We believe your husband may have used it to defend himself, and the attacker took it."

She looked to see Freddie examining Beck's hands. When she walked over, he stood upright. "Looks like was struggling. There's some bruising on his arms and wrists, maybe indicative of a holding struggle over that gun. There's also some flesh under his nails. He was fighting to protect something."

"Vanessa," Ryan whimpered. Jade's blood ran cold and everyone's eyes flew to the boy. Ryan buried his face in his hand, and his sobbing increased to a loud cry. "Vanessa's gone. She was screaming about dad. They took her, they took Vanessa."

A cold sweat overtook her and once more she found herself fighting to remain standing. The color left her body, and her esophagus closed up. Freddie's hand pulled her to reality and she looked to the hand on her shoulder with a whimper. "I've got this," Freddie uttered softly.

He knelt in front of Ryan. "Ryan?" The boy looked to Freddie, sniffling angrily. Rachel was beside him and her hand was rubbing her back. "I know it's hard right now, but I need you to tell me if you can what happened. If you do, we can get the person who did this to your father and find your sister."

Freddie was in a calm, relaxed position. His hands were closed together on his right knee; his left knee was bent on the floor. His facial expression was calm and comforting, enough to earn the trust of Jade's son.

"There was a woman and a man. I don't know what they were fighting about, I can't remember." It was common for witnesses not to be able to recall certain events or words during a recent tragic episode, so Jade knew Ryan would likely remember when he wasn't so emotionally charged. "I remember hearing Vanessa screaming though, she said 'Daddy look out' before the bang…"

Jade covered her mouth with her hands and closed her eyes. "The lady told Vanessa to shut up. After that, I couldn't hear her anymore." He dropped his head back to his hands and continued his furious whimpers. "They took 'Ness. They killed her, didn't they? They're going to hurt her."

"Shh." Freddie pat Ryan's shoulder and Rachel pulled the boy close, hugging him. Tears streaked her face as well as she set her chin atop his head. "We don't know that yet. We're going to find your sister, I promise."

Jade moved her hand to her abdomen, groaning as her stomach flipped inside of her. Just then, the same officer approached her after talking to a CSI that stepped in just a second ago. "Detective. CSI's located this in the master room." She looked at a sheet of paper in his hand and carefully pulled it towards herself so she could read.

As she did, she felt a thunderous roar of anger rush through her. The note was not done by Beck's hand, but she now had an idea just who may have done this.

_"Detective. If you wish to see your daughter alive, then you will cease investigation on the White and Vega murders. Let them freeze as they have done, give up the investigations and I will return your daughter to you unharmed in two weeks' time."_

"That bastard," she whispered. Freddie over his shoulder and up at her. Her body trembled with fury, but she was too shocked to scream or yell. "The one who killed Tori and Trina, the one who killed Lisa, is the one who shot my husband." She knew it had to have happened earlier this morning, possibly some time before questioning Andre about both his and Beck's alibi.

All this note did was make her want to solve their murders more, however. Not to mention, it made things all the more personal. She was emotionally charged, which in normal situations was bad for a detective, but this time it was going to fuel her further.

"He wants me to give up on the investigations." She sneered angrily and narrowed her eyes. "Promising to bring Vanessa back in two weeks." It was a lie. She was familiar with ransoms, familiar with hostage situation and demands by crazed killers. Vanessa would be dead within hours, and in two weeks, Jade would receive her daughter in the form of a corpse.

"If he thinks I'm going to comply." She handed the paper back to the investigator, growling lowly. "Dust that for prints. See if anyone left _any_ trace." She pointed to Beck's hand and fired a glare at the CSI. "Flesh and DNA under the victim's nails. Scrape it and get an ID _stat_. It takes precedent and priority over any other investigation. Get it done. _Now!"_

"Yes ma'am," the investigator replied.

"Compare it to the DNA sample acquired from the body of Lisa White as well, and the unknown traces of blood found at the Vega crime scene. I want to confirm that it's the same person." She looked up to the television; the news report of her husband's attack was playing out already, but it reminded her of another hunch. "Send it to crime labs in the southeastern states as well…I want the sample compared with any DNA found on the victims of the Seaside Killer."

A resounding gasp echoed in the room. She tensed and Freddie leaned over, whispering so no one else would be alarmed. "You don't actually think that serial killer could have anything to do with this?"

"No," she whispered back, "I don't know if he does. Still, my gun was used and Beck fits a certain profile of the men associated with the victims in the seaside cases."

"Alright…"

Remembering what Beck said about his father's stolen gun suddenly arriving the next day, Jade shot a glance at Mr. Oliver and pointed to the man. "You." Mr. Kevin Oliver tensed and turned his weary and wide eyes over. "Come with me." He left his wife's side with a nod, then Jade looked at her son. For the first time she softened her tone, knowing it was the best way to communicate not only to her son but to the witness of a crime. "Ryan, if there is anything you can remember…don't hesitate to tell somebody."

"Okay mommy…"

"We're going to get this done."

She led Kevin out into the hospital cafeteria and sat down with him and with Freddie at her side. "Mr. Oliver." The man smiled sadly and met her gaze. "If the person that kidnapped your granddaughter and shot your son is the same person that murdered the Vega sisters and Lisa White, then we have reason to believe that person was the one responsible for stealing your gun on the night of the Vega murders. I need you to tell me the events surrounding the disappearance and return of your weapon. You understand that it was used in the crime."

"I do, Beck informed me just the other day they found the traces matched his gun. My son did not take the gun back then, however." Kevin's lips tightened and his hands and fingers remained curved on the table. The man bowed his head and narrowed his eyes. "He helped me look for it, he didn't know where it was and was just as startled as I was when we found it in the truck."

"Okay."

"We had just looked there previously, and it wasn't there. So, when it was returned, we didn't know what to make of it. The Vega sisters had just been murdered, I remember seeing the news report, so I asked him if he thought the gun might have been used and he said no."

"Do you remember what mood Beck was in that day?"

"I don't know." The man ran his hand over his face, groaning softly. "He seemed angry about something, and upset, but at the same time he was happy because he just proposed to you. So, I'm not sure that he was in any negative mood."

Jade scratched her forehead and let out a soft exhale. "I also want to collaborate something mentioned by a witness. Andre Harris, you recall him?" The man's hands immediately closed up and his expression grew stern. Jade's eyebrows rose and her lips separated. "You clearly remember him, but not well?"

"No. That man was a strange kid. I remember initially, I thought he was alright." The man swept his hand through his hair and leaned back slowly. "He seemed to want to go on these hunting trips to spend time with my son, but he would gravitate towards me and towards my wife."

"Oh?"

"He would ask all sorts of questions; how do we work on precision. How do we make sure a gun is properly loaded. Eventually he started asking more personal questions. He wanted to know if we liked him and if we thought he was a good kid, and when he started asking if we liked him more than our own son…I made sure he and Beck knew I didn't want him associating with our family any longer."

"So he made you feel uncomfortable?"

"Of course." Kevin leaned forward and pointed a finger to his head. "Something was wrong with that kid, something was mentally screwed up about him." Jade and Freddie exchanged nervous glances, both were thinking that they'd just left the man at the station and were wondering if they needed to book him.

Still, it wasn't illegal to be a creep.

"You never saw the way that man looked at my boy, Detective. It wasn't just kinship, it was this enormous jealousy. I think back and I wonder if that kid blamed my son for pushing him away.

"Beck did have a distaste for him it seems like. He said he was the one who forced Andre away."

"My son was terrified of that man in the later years of them being friends. I asked Beck why he was so harsh in sending his friend away, and he told me something I always thought was cryptic." Jade took a deep breath as the man focused his eyes onto his hands. She held onto the air she'd sucked in and waited patiently.

An exhausted breath flew from the old man's lips and his head shook from side to side. "He told me: 'Dad, you have no idea how dangerous, and what that asshole is capable of.' Those were his exact words, I remember them to this day because I have always thought about them…and I have always thought about how good it is that Beck's friend is gone."

Freddie tapped the table and reclined in the cafeteria chair. His eyes grew heavy and his lips stretched into a thin line. "Mr. Oliver, is there any reason you can think of that Mr. Harris would have to harm your son?"

"I can only think it would be that Beck was the one that told him to leave and stay away." Kevin folded his arms across his chest and looked from Jade to Freddie. "Detective Benson, can I say something to you in private?" Jade raised an eyebrow and Freddie shrugged.

"Is there something that my associate cannot hear?"

"I don't know how to say it in front of her. Please." Jade pushed herself back with a sigh of frustration and walked to the doors of the cafeteria. She turned around to watch the conversation, annoyed that her father-in-law had information that he didn't want her to hear.

The old man was swinging his arm in the air and pointing at her. Freddie's eyes widened, and then his demeanor went from a painful expression to an angry one. Jade wanted to know what was being said, and if it was about her or something else.

Soon the conversation was over and Freddie approached her. "Come on Jade." His voice was stern, and his eyes looked to be focused. "We're getting a search warrant, and we're going to that hotel room your 'former friend' is staying at."

"What did Kevin say? Was it about me?"

Freddie's jaw locked and his glare sharpened. "In a way." She put her hands to her hips and started to exclaim that if he did not tell her what was said, then a fight would happen. She didn't have time for any shenanigans. "It wasn't something you did or said, though. Completely opposite, it was something Mr. Harris told your father-in-law involving you."

"Well what was it?"

"Just come with me, I'll explain the details. What's important right now, is we have possible motive for the attack on your husband. In a nutshell, your father-in-law informed me that Mr. Harris did want to take over your husband's life, he wanted _everything_ your husband had…"

She put her hand to her chest. "Everything?" Her breathing grew shallow as Freddie exited the cafeteria. Jade looked at Kevin, still seated hunched over and glaring angrily at the table.

Whatever had been said to put Freddie in this foul mood, she understood now how serious it was. This was the time to let Freddie lead, her head was a mess and emotions were high, so she would be more than willing to take a backseat if she had to.

As they walked down the hall, she heard Freddie make a sudden order to an officer. "Put out an APB on Andre Harris. I want him in custody. Suspicion of kidnapping. Question him about his relationship to Beck Oliver. Get it out of him." Jade raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She leaned back and watched Freddie remove a pack of cigarettes from his jacket-this was bad.

"I want to know when his flight from Louisiana to LA came in, and I want to know his every step and every move he made from the time he stepped off that plane to the time you pick him up." His voice rose as he moved the cigarette to his lips. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you. Get it done."

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><p>Vanessa's been taken, Beck's recovering, and something's definitely not right about Andre. Tell me your racing thoughts as you've gone through this chapter.<p> 


	21. A Crumbling Alibi and Shattered Worlds

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 21 (Crumbling Alibi, Shattered World)<p>

It was the first time she'd seen Freddie smoke an entire cigarette without putting it out or stopping to take a break. Their drive to Andre's hotel was a swift one, and he'd not spoken a word.

The look in his eyes was cold as it was furious, so Jade wasn't pressing him on what was said. All she knew was Andre had come under heavy suspicion. She didn't want to think Andre was the one that shot Beck, and she certainly didn't believe he would be responsible for kidnapping her daughter.

The tires screeched to a halt in the parking space in front of Andre's hotel door. Freddie and Jade exited, and she grabbed her gun when he did. Her eyes scanned the perimeter, then stopped on a familiar apartment complex just across the street. _"The Vega crime scene…the hotel looks over it?"_

"Jade!" Freddie was standing next to the door with his shoulder pressed against the wall. He motioned with his head and Jade mimicked his position on the other side.

They had the search warrant already, they'd become electronic these days so the judge could deal with them quickly and investigators didn't have to waste precious time when dealing with dangerous suspects.

Freddie knocked firmly on the door and spoke loud and fierce. "Police, open up." When no one responded, Freddie repeated himself with greater force. "We have a warrant." Still there was no reply.

Freddie tried the door, since it was a typical hotel where all the rooms were outside-unlike hotel buildings where everything was inside a large building rather than being fixated similarly to an apartment-the door itself was only unlocked by a key.

This door was unlocked.

As the door opened, they found a grisly scene inside that made the hair on the back of Jade's neck stand. Two young children were laying on the hotel bed, drenched in their blood. Their arms were spread over their chest as though they were lying in a coffin.

"Oh god." Jade turned her head away, wincing as the images of the Vega sisters shot through her. "Those poor girls." Freddie kept his weapon drawn and hurried inside, aiming around the room just in case the killer was still there. Jade did the same.

She approached the bathroom, but it was empty. "No sign of life," she said while holstering her weapon. She left the restroom and saw Freddie examining the girls. "Status?"

"Entry wound to the right temple, exit wounds on the left. Staging suggest nurture." Freddie glanced at the open suitcase on the opposite bed, it was full of clothes that had been folded up. Some clothes had been unpacked. "I'd say they were murdered close to the time they arrived…"

"Their mother should be here. Where is Taylor?"

"Great." He grabbed his radio and brought it to his lips, grunting just before pressing down the talk button. "Going to need units reporting to the Super 8 hotel on Grandview. We have a homicide. Two victims, possible third and a possible suspect on the run."

Once investigators were on the scene, Freddie and Jade departed to the address provided by Ross's parole officer. It was time to confirm Andre's alibi. Jade called up Robbie's prison while they were driving and was able to get ahold of him to confirm Andre's alibi for the time of Lisa's murder.

"How can I help you, Detective Oliver?" Robbie spoke with an eerily calm voice, as if he expected to hear from her. "Have you found further evidence about the Vega girls that you need my help with?"

"Maybe." She glanced out the window and sucked in a deep breath. She had already confirmed that Robbie would be willing to testify against their killer, and right now prison was the safest place for their star witness. "I need you to confirm somebody's alibi."

"Somebody used me as their alibi? Okay, but for what case is this? You know where I was the night of the Vega killing."

"It's connected. Lisa White's murder." She listened as Robbie exhaled and rolled his chair back. "I need you to confirm Andre Harris's alibi." She locked the phone between her head and shoulder and brought a pen to a notepad.

"Andre? That guy?"

"Yeah, he says he was helping you fix Rex that day."

"Rex?" Robbie let out a shallow laugh, followed by a smacking sound. "God it's been so long since I've thought about Rex. I lost that puppet about twelve years ago. The day of Lisa White's murder, Rex was in pristine condition, I had no reason to fix him up."

She pressed her lips together and glanced up from the pad. Andre lied about his alibi on that day. She needed to know why. "Andre wasn't with you?"

"No, but I can tell you something was off about him. I did see him later that day, he was huffing and panting, told me he just had sex with Cat." She jerked her head back looked at Freddie. The phone was loud enough for him to hear, but he was focused on driving. "I thought it was weird, Andre never once displayed an interest in that girl and it was the first time I ever heard anything about a connection between the two. So if he was anywhere that day, he was with Cat."

It was the first time she heard of a connection between the two as well. She doubted the truth of it, but there was always a chance the two wanted to keep it under wraps if true, so she would have to confirm this with the girl.

"Thank you Robbie. I'll let you know if new information turns up." She hung up the phone and saw Freddie shaking his head. "Well, that's one hole possibly punched from his alibi, but our next stop will be the psych ward where Cat's at."

"Yeah, poor girl if she turns out to be his alibi. I don't trust Harris as far as I can throw him."

They parked in front of Ross's new home and met the man at the door. He had on a robe and looked as though he'd just woken from a nap. "Ah detectives." He smirked slightly and motioned them inside. "I just get out of jail and you show up. Can't get enough of me, I see."

"Yeah that's right," Freddie curtly replied, "We need you to confirm somebody's alibi." Ross sat down on a dusty looking couch and gave them a skeptical look. "Andre Harris."

"Who?" Ross scrunched his nose and turned his eyes over to Jade. "That name." His chest expanded and his eyelids fell halfway. "One of those people in your inner circle? I think I remember Trina mentioning his name once. Why would you need me to confirm his alibi? I've had no reason to associate with him."

"He says he was at the Valero gas station the night of their murder." Ross coughed loudly and his eyes shot over to Freddie. "Around the time of their murder and your robbery."

"That's a bold-faced lie." Ross's voice was laced with anger. His hands clenched up and his muscles tightened. "There were only two people there: Myself, and the clerk." Jade brought her hand to her face and winced. It was bad enough that Ross was clearly angry that somebody used him as an alibi, but now he knew something more about a potential suspect in the Vega murder investigation.

"Mr. Harris says you spotted him in the back of the store." Immediately Jade was regretting the decision to ask Ross about the alibi, but it was a necessary step. Still, as dangerous as he was, they could have tried to look at the station security cameras or even have spoken with the clerk or responding officers.

"I never saw anybody there. The reason I picked those two gas stations was because they were empty-I didn't want anybody but the clerks to see me." Ross snapped his fingers and pointed at Freddie. "I'm nothing if not honest. Nobody else was there, and anyone using _me_ as an alibi is a goddamn coward."

The man reclined slowly and locked eyes with Jade. His nostrils flared out and his eyes slanted. "Hold on. You're asking about the Vega murders. You think he killed Trina? This Andre guy?"

"We don't know that for a fact," she answered. It was best to remain calm, since she knew how dangerous he was. She didn't know if he would act out on his prior threat. "I need to make sure you do not act on impulse. He is a suspect, but we have no evidence linking him to the crime yet…and if you go after him, you'll end up right back in the pen."

"Whatever." He crossed his arms and huffed angrily. "He wasn't at the gas station that I robbed. I know that for fact."

They didn't get anything else out of Ross but an assurance that he would not look for Andre. Just in case, they had him put under surveillance.

Their next stop was an incredibly emotional one. The mental ward Cat had herself in. Jade and Freddie stopped in the doorway of the food court and she could feel an incredible heaviness come over her.

Cat was sitting at a table, slowly eating from a tray of food. The nurse said she was one of the better patients there, but when asked if she wished to stop treatment, she would always refused.

She didn't look much different. Her hair was no longer red; these places didn't permit residents to dye their hair. She had it cut around her shoulders, and it was a very light brown color. Her eyes were distant and she had lines around her eyes and mouth that made her appear much older than she actually was.

"Catherine?" Jade sat down in front of her and breathed slowly as the girl's eyes moved at an equal pace to her. There was a sign of recognition, but Cat's only response was to shrug and take another bite of her sandwich. "Cat. You do recognize me?"

"Of course."

"I'm here to talk to you."

"I'm not leaving."

"No." Her heart broke and she shook her hand once in the air. "I need you to confirm an alibi, but I understand if you don't want to discuss it. Still, it will help an investigation." Cat raised her head. Her nose wiggled and the corners of her mouth pressed further into her cheeks. "I'm reworking the Vega murders."

"Okay."

"They're connected to another murder. The murder of Lisa White. Have you heard of her?"

"The girl you and Beck fought over? Yeah. Never met her." Cat brought the sandwich to her mouth and Jade could only watch in silence as the girl chewed her food. Instinctively and without being sure why, she put her hand inside Freddie's and squeezed it. Freddie raised an eyebrow at her and applied a gentle reassuring squeeze.

Right now he was the only person she trusted, and felt like he was the only person she knew. Everyone else, Beck included, had lied to her up to this point. Now, in this sad moment she needed somebody to be there to support, and he was the only one that could be.

It was far too painful seeing Cat like this, and as much as she wanted to scream and cry, and tell Cat she needed to let herself out and live her life, she had to do everything in her power to hold that back.

"Cat. You remember Andre." Cat swallowed her bite and shrugged. "He told us on the day of Lisa's murder he was with Robbie. Robbie informed us that wasn't true, and Andre told him he was with you. Having sex."

Cat lowered the sandwich and stared into Jade's eyes with a look of contemplation. Her eyebrows moved together and her head shook from side to side. "I've never been into Andre in that way, and he was never into me. Sex did not happen."

"I'll understand if he might have f-"

"It did not happen." Her voice grew firm and she spoke each word with a slow and careful tone. So Jade repeated the date of the murder and Cat shook her head again. "I was with my older brother, he was visiting from overseas. Sex wouldn't occur with anyone, my brother wouldn't have allowed it. Sorry Jade. Can't help you. Just like the girls, just like Sam, couldn't help."

"No." She breathed out slowly and reached for Cat's hand. The girl's gaze flew to Jade's hand, and she withdrew her own before Jade could touch it. "You've helped." She placed her palm on the table and smiled through her tears as the girl turned her eyes towards Jade. "More than you know, you've helped. We're close to the killer now."

"You think Andre?"

"I don't know, we don't have evidence linking him to either murder, but you've just destroyed his last alibi." A faint smile appeared on Cat's face. It was a spark of hope for Jade, but she knew the girl had a long way to go before she was willing to take herself out of this place. "Cat, we're going to solve this murder. You deserve to move on, you deserve to live your life, and I hope…I hope one day you'll find your strength. I really do. I miss you."

The smile held on Cat's face for a moment, then faded as she returned to her sandwich. "Goodbye Jade." Cat stood from the table and lifted her tray. "It's been a pleasure." She turned and walked off, disappearing into a hallway.

Jade closed her eyes and felt Freddie pull her into a hug. It was a comfort, and one she desperately needed today. Her entire world was crumbling around her, and she didn't know what to do about it.

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><p>Well, Andre's alibi has just been destroyed. Though we've found a lot, and two children are dead-although those two don't appear to fit the MO. I wonder, could their mother have killed them? Is Andre planning on making a final stand? I wonder about Cat, could she have something more to give?<p> 


	22. Chasing a True Monster

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Because I want to be nice-and really need to get some stuff done for the newspaper...i'm going to give you this chapter tonight.

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><p>Chapter 22 (Chasing a True Monster)<p>

"These were my friends, Freddie. People I trusted, people I thought I knew. Even Beck…" She was sitting in the parked car, huddled up against her partner as he tried to comfort her. Tears were pouring down her face, and her body was trembling violently. "Sixteen years I gave Beck _everything_. I tried to be a good wife, after all the abuse, all the anger and manipulation, I tried."

She took a deep breath and her eyelids clenched tight. "I tried so hard to change, for him and for all my friends. I wanted to be better, a better person. I wanted to be a friend to Tori, to Trina, to Cat and even Robbie." Freddie rubbed her arm and looked up to the windshield, sighing heavily as her tears fell onto his shoulder. "I can't, I can't imagine everything I've known…"

"I know it's hard, Jade."

"No." Jade ran her fingers across her eyelids and gasped shakily. "I won't let my daughter be a victim of this guy. If it is Andre, and I know we don't know yet. Why? Why would he murder Tori and Trina?"

"Collateral, I'm guessing. Tori knew who killed Lisa, and they died because of it. She may never have been an intended target until that knowledge surfaced." She already figured as much, but that meant Lisa was an intended victim, and if it wasn't Beck that did it, she couldn't help but to wonder if it was someone targeting either Beck or Lisa.

As she contemplated this, Freddie's phone started ringing. He pulled it up to his ear and Jade turned her head to him. His expression tensed after a while, and remained so when he hung up the phone. "What is it, Freddie? What's the news?"

"The DNA found under Beck's nails matched a few things." She sat upright and pulled her hair away from her face. Freddie's chest area was soaked with her tears, but he didn't seem to mind much. "It isn't easy to say."

"What?"

"First off, it matches an unknown; someone who isn't already in the system. Second, it matches the DNA found on Lisa's body. It also matches the blood in the Vega bedroom." Her eyes widened and her hands pulled up to her face.

Freddie wasn't finished yet. The stern look in his eyes told her there was much more at stake. "It matches the DNA left behind on a few victims of the Seaside Killer." Her heart came to a stop and she fell into him, screaming and pounding his chest.

For the first time, she was breaking down entirely. This killer, she already had an instinct that not only was he one of her closest friends, now he had her daughter. The Seaside Killer was in Los Angeles, and they had Vanessa.

Freddie held her in his arms and carefully rubbed her back as she used his jacket and shirt to muffle her screams. Any seasoned investigator would order her off the case at this point, but she knew he wouldn't. He understood how important this was to her. "We'll find her. We will find Vanessa."

Her screams lasted another ten to twenty seconds, and her every breath came out as a heavy pant. Finally when she was too tired to cry anymore, she lifted her head away from him and looked up into his eyes. "A-Andre. Did they find Andre yet?"

"No. He's still out there." She dropped her head back to his chest. Freddie ran his hand along the back of her head and looked out the window as her body continued its never-ending quake. "Jade. Jade, look at me for a sec."

"What?" She turned her eyes to him, whimpering as she felt everything she ever knew and believed flying out the window. "Freddie, I-I trusted these people. How am I an investigator when I couldn't judge them?"

"Because you are." Freddie gently swept her tears from her cheeks with his thumb and smiled with reassurance. "You can't always detect evil in somebody, Jade. You know that more than anyone, but don't let that discourage you. You've found _so many _bad guys over the years. Many criminals are off the streets because you were able to find the truth. Don't let this cause you to doubt yourself, it isn't that you couldn't see something…it's that this killer has been so good and so apt at hiding in the shadows and covering his own tracks that he's able to elude even the best detective."

"But-"

"You're going to catch this guy, Jade." Her lips quivered and her eyebrows slid together. "You're one of the best. You know that. So this guy is the Seaside guy, and he's eluded detectives, but he's made a fatal flaw."

"W-What?"

"He came under our radar." Freddie smirked and slowly groomed her hair back, pulling it from her eyes. "He messed up. Lisa White may have been his first victim, and he killed two unintended victims as a result. Not to mention, if these were his first murders, he's nowhere near as seasoned…he's slipped up somewhere. Think about it."

"Beck knew." She sniffed and ran her fingers over her wet cheek. "He had to know, he's been hiding it for sixteen years. He had to know because the killer tried to get him. But he's alive?"

"And police are watching his hospital room. Not to mention, the killer was sloppy, we're onto him. Think also why this guy's the 'Seaside' killer. Every victim he has, he takes to a dock. Where is your daughter, Jade?"

"The port on the east side of town. It's the only one…"

"Let's get your daughter." Relieved and confident, she hugged him tight and moved hurriedly into the front passenger seat. Freddie raced into the driver's seat with a strong determination about him. He switched on their sirens, then accelerated.

They arrived at the port in amazing time, then split up. They had the SWAT team with them in case anything went down, which they were almost certain something might.

However the port had many cabins, so Jade wound up splitting from the group to investigate one. When she approached the wall of the cabin where one door had been slid open, she could hear a girl sobbing.

Her pulse quickened as she waited, listening for a sound that might indicate another presence. "Keep your mouth shut," someone said. The voice was feminine and violent. Then the woman said something that sent a chill through her body. "I've already killed my two girls, I'm not above killing you too. I was told to wait…he'll be back for you once we get your mother here."

She fell back against the wall and dropped her hands to her side. Her eyes widened and she recalled in horror the words Freddie told her that Kevin said.

"_He was obsessed with you. There were things he told Mr. Oliver that he wanted to do, because he thought you might enjoy it. You were the 'type of girl to like it', in his mind."_

While it frightened her to think Andre felt this way about her, it gave credence to what Beck said in regards to him.

She swallowed a heavy breath and pulled back the hammer on her gun. "Want me? You got me." Her left hand clenched shut, and her nose flared out. With every ounce of strength in her body, she clutched her pistol and swung herself in the doorway, aiming the weapon. "Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Vanessa was standing up with tears streaking her face. The girl's hair was a mess and she had bruises lined along her body. Jade sneered angrily and turned her glare to the woman standing behind her daughter.

Taylor.

She had a knife pressed against Vanessa's neck, with the point all but breaking skin. "Not another move Detective," Taylor whispered. The woman had blood covering her body, and it was clear she'd traded a gun for a knife. "I killed my two little girls, I'll kill your little girl too."

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"I know what's going to happen to me. To their father. They don't need to see that-to live with the horror that they would." Red streaks were evident on Taylor's cheeks, and her forehead was scrunched in a sign of distress. "I've been a victim since I met that man, forced to participate…every woman he murdered, I'd bring them the docks and leave them there. I was his 'cleanup' girl."

Jade took a step forward, her eyes remained focused on the knife at her daughter's neck. "I said don't move!" She flinched as the knife started to press more and Vanessa turned her head away.

"You don't need to do this, Taylor. You don't need to take another girl."

"What's one more life? Huh?" Taylor started to scream in anguish, and fresh tears produced in her eyes. "He killed my baby sister, he killed my Frankie." The woman sneered and narrowed her eyes. "And he had_ me _clean up that mess. Me!"

Jade's eyes flicked to the doors behind Taylor. Freddie and the SWAT team were making their way in. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. "Taylor please. I can't lose my daughter to that monster."

"Oh? Oh really? Like I lost my little sister? Like I lost my mother and my baby girls to that monster?" The knife pushed forward and Vanessa screamed.

"No!" Vanessa's body trembled with fear and her chest was moving in and out at an erratic pace. "Please." The girl's sobbing increased and her eyes slid shut. "Momma…"

"Taylor, we can work this out. I can bring justice-"

"There is no justice." Jade's eyes widened as the knife slid across Vanessa's throat. She let out a violent scream and ran for her daughter, extending her arms to catch her. As she fell to her knees, with Vanessa in her arms, she heard the sound of bullets hitting flesh.

It was like a sack of meat, and Taylor's body jerked and jolted with every shot. Freddie ran for her and crouched beside her, throwing an arm around her back and looking at Vanessa.

"It's okay." Jade's hand trembled as she placed it over her daughter's neck. Vanessa was gasping and sobbing, and her body was beginning to go into shock. "It's shallow, I can stop the bleeding." She looked up in time to see one of the EMTs rushing for them. Tears ran down her cheeks as she held her daughter close to her chest. She didn't want to turn her over, she wanted to continue holding her. "My baby."

"Ma'am, we need to take her in," the man said. She nodded furiously as the paramedics took her daughter. She watched them carry her child away, then crashed against Freddie, crying hysterically. He held her close and looked to Taylor's body beside them.

It was a gruesome end to a life that never needed to be destroyed the way it had been. She didn't know whether to be angry, relieved or devastated. Her daughter would live, but that was more than what could have been said for Taylor's family. "S-She wanted to die, Freddie. I could see it."

"Jade…"

"The Seaside…she worked with him. Her sister was a victim, maybe the first one taken to the docks, even."

It was a police assisted suicide without a doubt. The look in Taylor's eyes had been one of hopelessness. In her gut, she felt as though Taylor intentionally kept Vanessa alive-there was no way the Seaside Killer would have left a victim among the living.

"Detective?" Jade pulled herself from Freddie's chest and looked up at an officer. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but your husband's awake." She swept away her tears and let Freddie help her to her feet.

"Beck? How is his condition?"

"Stable. Says he wants to talk to you and Detective Benson." Jade looked towards the ambulance and closed her eyes as it faded into the distance. "It sounds like he wants to make a confession, but he says he'll only speak to the two of you."

"Okay." She pulled herself from Freddie, still holding onto his forearm to keep her trembling legs from giving out. "I need a moment to collect myself. Have we located Andre Harris?"

"No ma'am."

"Well hurry it up, because after what happened to my daughter and my husband, he better hope I don't find him first." She took a deep breath and tensed her hands and arms. Freddie let out a grunt and she loosened her grip on his arm. Her eyes trailed over to the officer and she let out a stern growl. "Close the airports, block the freeway exits and get the damn Louisiana police on the line. Tell them the Seaside Killer is in Los Angeles."

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><p>They've rescued Vanessa, but in the process it has become abundantly clear that evil has come to town. Now in the race to catch Andre before he strikes again, they must figure where he's gone. Taylor, I'm not sure whether to sympathize with her or not, in the end she truly lost it all. Her end truly was a police-assisted suicide, since she kept Vanessa alive specifically for that reason. Your thoughts now?<p> 


	23. Closing in on Truth

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: Okay, pay close attention this chapter. See if you notice anything like discrepancies and so on.

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><p>Chapter 23 (Closing in on Truth)<p>

Jade and Freddie entered Beck's room without a single word. When she saw him sitting upright, with a pillow behind him for support, she was relieved to see he was okay. Still, she was angry with him. He knew something, and had known for sixteen years, and because of this knowledge Vanessa nearly lost her life.

"Our daughter almost died today," Jade growled. Beck's one eye slid up to her and his forehead tensed. "If you know something, you better start talking." Beck's shoulders dropped and his hands closed around the white bedsheet.

"I tried to protect her, Jade. I tried to protect all of us, but I couldn't." She crossed her arms and raised her right eyebrow. "I'm sorry Jade. I should have come clean sixteen years ago, but that man? He threatened us. For so long he said he would kill everyone. You, me, the children. I had no choice."

"What? You were just going to let some psycho murder your family?"

Beck clenched and bared his teeth, then pounded the bed with closed fists. "I never thought he'd take it this far. I thought if I kept my mouth shut, nothing would happen!" Jade threw her hair over her shoulder and approached Beck, gripping his forearm and glaring into his eyes.

"Well it's happening. I was also just informed that a certain somebody was obsessed with _me_." Beck jerked his head back, then let his gaze fall towards the sheet. His tone softened and his mouth fell into a sullen frown.

"That's right. Andre. He had an obsession with you. Every girl he slept with, he fantasized it was you." Jade leaned back and fell into a chair Freddie was pushing up behind her. Her stomach flipped over and nausea spun inside of her like a storm raging out of control. "Moreover, he wanted his life to be mine. He wanted my parents for his own, he wanted everything I had, and he wanted you. Every girl he killed, he did so to conceal his identity."

"Wait a sec." Freddie crossed his arms and Beck looked up at him. "You're saying you also knew he was the Seaside Killer?"

"He told me, even as he shot me and took our daughter away he told me he was." Jade moved her hand up to her head, reeling from frustration and anger. "He'd send me pictures of the girls he'd slaughter and he'd taunt me, he'd talk about how it would be my wife. He was a monster and a demon. He even made his own wife take the bodies to a place where she'd dump them. Each victim he'd put this purple hairpiece in their head…"

She cupped her hand over her mouth and felt the bile rushing into her throat. Freddie looked to her with a frown, then glanced at Beck with a stern glare. "Beckett, listen, you're facing a serious sentence as well for the murders of the Vega sisters."

Beck rolled his head back and let his chest sink in. Jade could feel the air being sucked out of the room. Breathing alone had become so difficult, she could barely speak. "I lied when I said I didn't know what was going on. I had nothing to do with Lisa White's murder, but I was present for the deaths of Tori and Trina."

Her heart crushed like a ceramic vase. Her husband's words were like a punch to the gut, and one she didn't know if she could get up from. Beck looked into her eyes and slowly shook his head. His voice was raw and it trembled with great difficulty.

"I remember being led to the door at gunpoint. He made me bang on the door, to call Tori for help, saying you were somehow hurt in an accident. I told her…I told her you were dying." Her eyes closed and she began to feel faint. "When she opened the door, that was it."

"What happened when she opened the door?"

"Andre struck me on the side of the head with the butt end of my father's pistol and grabbed Tori, putting his hand over her mouth. He said…He said 'if you scream, I'll kill the kid too.' I blacked out after that."

Freddie wrote the statement down and looked at Beck's hands. They were trembling to a point where it was unlikely he'd be able to write the confession down at this time. "Okay Mr. Oliver, do you recall anything else? What happened after the fact?"

"I woke up, Andre said they were dead. The girls were dead." His breathing was intense and he was now scratching at his throat. "He handed me his bloody sweater and pants, told me to burn them. To get rid of the evidence."

"Did you?"

Beck's eye slanted and he uttered a single word with a sudden breath of air. "No." Jade lifted her head and uncrossed her legs. This fact was a surprise, because it meant Beck knew where the bloody clothes were. If they'd been preserved, then they would have something to tie Andre to the scene of the crime. "I put them in a black garbage bag, and I buried them in my father's back yard."

"And the gun, Beck?"

"I put it back in the place Andre had taken it from." Jade reached for the handcuffs beneath her blazer and drew in a heavy sigh. She was thankful that Ryan wasn't here to see what was about to happen. As well as Vanessa, hard as this would be on her once she recovered.

"Beck, you know what this means." Beck's demeanor turned somber and he moved his wrists together. "I have to place you under arrest. Beck Oliver, you are under arrest for hindering a police investigation, and for covering up a murder." She placed the cuffs on his wrists and her voice trembled as she read him his rights.

The charges may increase, and she only hoped they wouldn't increase too much. Freddie had to guide her out of the room once they were done with Beck, and there she struggled not to break down once again.

All she could do was stare into the distance and shake her head as she tried to make sense of this ordeal. Freddie ran his hand over her back and she looked up to him as a tear ran slowly down her face. "Come on Jade," he said softly, "Let's dig up Kevin's yard. If those pants and that hoodie are there as Beck says…we'll be able to place Andre at the scene of the crime."

It would be even better if some of Andre's blood got on the sweater. At least they could now get a warrant to obtain a sample of his DNA to compare it, and Jade was fairly certain it would match everything.

"He eluded capture." Her throat felt raw as she tried to speak, but her words only left a trail of fire behind. "Because Beck kept his mouth shut. If Beck spoke up, then all these years…all the victims…none of this-"

"I know, Jade. I know."

"Let's just go."

Once they obtained a warrant, they were able to get into Kevin's yard and dig in the corner Beck told them he buried the sack. Kevin allowed the search, but Jade could see in his eyes he was both terrified and confused.

Jade couldn't feel relieved yet because they only solved one half of the Vega-White murders. They still had to catch Andre, and once they did that, they could put the monster away for good.

The criminal justice system was no longer as lenient on criminals as it used to be, either. A very stern activist managed to show some criminals were being given far too many rights, and proved capital punishment should not be done away with.

That said, Jade was hopeful that Andre would most certainly be given the death penalty if they could catch him. She couldn't see taxpayer money being put to keeping such an evil and dangerous monster away.

No. She couldn't see her own money being used to keep a man that murdered her best friend, several innocent girls, and nearly her own daughter, from the hangman's noose. In fact, she'd put the asshole down herself if she could.

"Jade?" She shook herself from her trance and saw Freddie with a black bag in his gloved hand. In his right hand he was holding a grey sweater soaked in blood. Her heart leapt up with joy and she flashed a prideful grin. "We've struck gold."

"Let's get it to the lab!" Just then, another officer came running around the corner calling her name. She tensed and turned to face the man. "What is it?" Freddie lowered the bag.

"We got him." Her eyes expanded and her heart fell to a stop. "Andre Harris. We got a call about a break-in. He was trying to convince that guy on parole to cement an alibi."

"Wait? Ross? Andre tried to get Ross?"

"Yes ma'am." The officer straightened his back and Jade pulled her hand over her mouth. She was in a state of shock and wanted to be sure Andre was still alive so he had a chance to face her. She wanted to look that monster in the eyes herself. "Ross knocked him out and called his parole officer. We got him, Andre Harris is in police custody."

"Tell Ross…" Her lips slid into a smirk and her eyelids fell halfway. This would be a most grievous insult for the man who was so proud and boastful that he would slaughter the man responsible for Trina's murder. While Ross may have realized Andre was indeed responsible, he likely didn't want to be thanked for having the heart not to murder the guy as he promised. "Detective Jade says thank you."

"Thank you, ma'am?"

"Yes. Thank you. Tell him, I'm very proud of him, and so glad that he decided to go ahead and not kill the man presumed to be Trina's murderer. Go ahead and remind him just how thankful I am." Freddie snickered once and the officer shrugged.

"I'll be sure to do that."

Jade took the garbage bag containing the blood soaked clothes from Freddie and pushed them into the officer's hands. "And take these clothes to lab." Now it was time to have a little chat with Andre Harris. As for now, he was only being held for breaking and entering, but once the lab results came back and confirmed as a match to him, he would be under arrest for murder.

And she was looking forward to being the officer to arrest the man responsible for murdering not just the Vega sisters, but Lisa White and so many other innocent girls. Still, something didn't sit right for her. Her gut instinct told her something was missing, and somewhere along the line, someone may have lied about something.

Andre was a monster if he was the Seaside Killer, there was no question about that. He was a demon, a liar and a manipulator, but he was also a follower. He was insane, and perhaps he was intelligent, but he was crazy to a point that she wondered if he was truly capable of the crime he had committed.

According to Beck, Andre killed those women in the southeastern states to control him. He fantasized about them being her, so what was Lisa to Andre? What were Tori and Trina to a monster that was obsessed with his best friend's girl?

She would find out soon enough. For the first time, she felt like Beck was telling the truth. Andre, the master manipulator, would no longer be able to harm another. Jade would give him what he wanted, he would give him her across the table.

Let him attempt to spin a web when his fate was sealed.

* * *

><p>Well, they found the bloody clothes and Beck has given a pretty solid statement, has he not? So what are your thoughts and observations?<p> 


	24. The Missing Piece

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 24 (The Missing Piece)<p>

"That clever asshole." Jade glared at Andre through the observation window, and Freddie stood beside her. They couldn't speak to Andre now because the first words out of his mouth were 'I want a lawyer'. She hardly got Beck's name out of her mouth before Andre flashed his cocky smirk. "I'm so close I can taste victory. So close and he gets a damned lawyer!"

"It's okay, we have physical evidence." Freddie was leaning up against the wall and glaring through the window as well. "We at least got his DNA." That was one of the few things they did manage to receive as a result of their warrant, so that had been sent in for testing.

"If we hope for a confession, we need to play our cards right." Many murder cases didn't end with a confession, but when it came to cold cases, sometimes a confession was the best thing to get. "I'm just glad Beck preserved those clothes well enough to get a sample."

They left the observation room discussing the case and stopped behind someone wearing a red hoodie. The person was sitting at the desk of another officer, somewhat to the side, so they didn't pay them any mind. "The blood matches." Freddie scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. "They found blood on the _inside_ of the hood, castoff-probably from his mouth."

"That would consist with Trina fighting."

"Yeah, it's a match to the DNA sample from Lisa White, and a match to the Seaside Killer." There had been no DNA from Vanessa, since she did not undergo the same treatment as the killer's other victims, but that didn't matter since Taylor essentially confirmed that she'd been working with the serial killer. "Tech came back with Andre's sample, and it's a confirmed match."

It was a huge, yet slight relief for her knowing that Andre Harris had been the one who killed Lisa and the Vega sisters. When she didn't smile or say anything, Freddie asked her what was wrong. "Something still doesn't feel right." Jade crossed her arms and looked back to the observation room. "We have the killer, but something's just not sitting right."

"What?"

"Beck's story." Jade swept her hand to the observation door and frowned. "He said he was knocked out outside the apartment. Both Robbie's statement and the video footage disagree, Beck was led _into_ the apartment."

"Why would Beck say he was outside, then?" The person in the red sweater twisted partially, but remained silent. "To avoid having the implication of being inside when the murders happened? Robbie did say he saw the unopened door and ran when he heard gunshots, surely he would have mentioned Beck laying on the ground."

"That's because he wasn't." The person turned away, though her voice startled the detectives. Jade was so wrapped up in her own world that she hadn't noticed a thing. She turned to the person and squinted her eyes. "Are they in custody now? Beck and Andre?"

Jade leaned sideways to get a look at this person's hands. They were closed into small fists and pale white. The person's voice was so soft that it was nearly unrecognizable. "Yes, both are under arrest. I'm sorry, but the details of this case-"

"You need me." Jade froze and watched the person rise up. The girl pulled down her hood and turned around; it was Cat. "He couldn't get me in the mental hospital. He can't get me in prison. I'm safe. Protected. They can't hurt me."

An emptiness came over Jade, as did the sudden nervous sensation that triggered unease within her. Cat must know something about the case, something she held back for whatever reason.

"Who can't hurt you?"

"The person that killed Sammy." She raised an eyebrow and Freddie scoffed.

"Nora Dershlitt is in prison, Cat."

Cat's eyes widened and she grabbed Jade's wrist as though she were the one that spoke. "No, no you don't understand." Freddie's eyes narrowed and he started to question the girl. "Nora lies in prison and Sam in a grave, but I should be dead too."

"Clearly there is something wrong here," Freddie muttered, "You feel guilt over Sam's murder." Cat rolled her eyes and nearly snapped his head off.

"She died protecting me!" Freddie jerked back and his mouth opened in shock. "Nora was gunning for us both. She called for us both, but Sam told me to stay behind while she returned to the house. Sam died because of me, because of what I knew-what I saw. Nora was hired as a reminder, a means to an end, and I put myself in the mental hospital for my own safety because of continued threats."

"Okay, come with us." She informed a nearby officer that Andre was not free to go, then led Cat into another room for questioning. There, Freddie was shaking like crazy and pacing the floor, clearly upset that he could have missed something in regards to Sam's murder.

Jade sat down before Cat and took a deep breath. Silence filled the room while she waited for the girl to speak; she hoped Cat would simply begin to explain. "Why did you place yourself in the mental ward?"

Cat reached into her coat and removed a small folder. She pushed it forward with a frown and bowed her head. When Jade opened it, she saw numerous handwritten letters to Cat, each threatening in nature.

The handwriting was extremely familiar. As Jade put her hand over her mouth, she let her eyes close and the tears run over her fingers.

Freddie bent over the table and stared at the letters, growling in annoyance. "What do these threats have to do with Sam?" Jade separated one letter from the rest and pushed it towards Freddie.

She watched the color vanish from his face, and his trembling hand flew over his mouth. "Oh god. They're fucking bragging." Jade glanced at it and pressed her lips tight as she read the letter.

_"Looks like you lucked out and let your roommate die. It's a shame you weren't there for Nora to greet you, I would have liked to be there to watch you die as well. Oh well, I guess Sam's good enough. We can't lose two gorgeous ladies in one day, if you could really be considered half as good looking as your roommate was. It's a pity she had to die for you, Cat, but as long as you remember to keep your mouth shut, because next time…It's going to be you. Too bad Nora was too inept to kill both of you." _

"Nora was in prison, and I was scared I'd go to jail for keeping this in for so long. So I was afraid if I went to prison, she would finish the job." Freddie's hand stopped trembling and he became very still. Jade half expected to see him grab a cigarette, but to her surprise, he didn't.

Instead he lowered his hand and spoke with a firm and deep tone. "Who sent these letters to you?" Cat turned towards Jade and held her gaze. Cat's silence was enough to fill her heart with dread; she already knew the answer.

"Beck. Beck sent me those letters."

She locked up and shot a glance at Freddie. The man's eyes were lit with rage, so much that his calm tone frightened Jade more than the look of malice. Cat looked from Jade to Freddie and slowly shook her head.

"She was so looking forward to seeing you, Freddie. She truly forgave you, for everything." The anger in his eyes subsided and the tension in his body slowly went away. "It had been eight or more years, but she told me she still cared about you and she was ready to accept that. If it was as a friend or something more, she loved you again…" He tried to speak, but choked on his words. The trembling returned, and tears erupted from his eyes.

"Sam…"

"Before she went back to deal with Nora, we were talking. She had such a great day planned for you when you finally got here. I'm sorry…If I had known…" He turned away and Jade reached up, taking his hand in hers to comfort him.

He looked to her with the most sullen expression that she'd seen on his face, it was devastating to see but also a sign that he was beginning to accept that Sam was really gone.

"Freddie?" Jade kept her voice quiet and looked towards his chest pocket. "Do you need to step outside and have a smoke?"

After several long seconds, Freddie took in a sharp breath and pulled his hand away. "No. Sam wouldn't have approved of that, anyway."

He looked to the ceiling and cleared his throat. "Okay Cat. Tell us why? What did you see, hear, do, or anything at all that would have earned this? For Sam, for Tori and Trina, we're going to end this. I assure you, you will have the protection of the LAPD."

"Alright. Protection how?"

"A new name, new city, new life. Should the people ever get out, they won't find you."

"Okay. Andre is not the mastermind, he never was and never could be. He's not insane either, he's just mentally screwed up and has been since childhood." Cat became stern and her lips flattened together. "Ever Since his grandma abused him sexually growing up, he's been weak and Jade, we all knew he was obsessed with you." Jade moved her hand to her burning chest. "Tori was the only one that didn't realize how deep the obsession went…We knew he was obsessed with everything Beck had; he wanted to be Beck. Beck took advantage of this."

"Explain, Cat. Please."

Cat's tongue swept across her lips, and her fingernails scratched at the metal table. "I was walking home one day and I overheard Beck and Andre arguing. Beck promised Andre he'd ignore the obsession if he removed Lisa from his life. It was Beck that wanted Lisa dead, but he didn't want to get his hands dirty, so he had Andre do it. Told Andre if he didn't do it, he'd tell everybody about the fantasies he had about you."

She couldn't believe it. No, she didn't want to believe it. There was nothing that said Beck would have done such a thing.

Jade needed to scream, but the sinking feeling she had and the handwritten note was more than enough for her.

"Andre told Tori a few nights before her murder, he couldn't hold it in. I was sitting right there in the room…he was crying his eyes out, saying he attacked Lisa. Tori was livid and she threw him out of the apartment, but she didn't know what to do."

Cat's speech wavered and tears began to line up at the girl's eyes. She'd witnessed so much that Jade couldn't help but to feel for her. "Then they died-Tori and Trina. I saw them." She stopped and held her breath. Her eyes closed and she began to sob.

"You don't understand, Sam and I were on that motorcycle she had. We liked to ride out on the streets in the early morning. I turned my head in time to see Beck and Andre walking out of the apartment…and they saw me."

Freddie set a box of tissues in front of Cat and took a seat alongside Jade, unable to remain standing any longer. He crossed his arms and looked over. Jade was too still to react, too stunned to cry and too upset to speak.

"They told me I didn't see anything, and if they even thought I was talking to the cops, I would be next. When Nona died, they laughed. When my brother died, they reminded me I could still join them."

"But Andre's the Seaside Killer," Freddie said aggressively, "What can be said about that? Did you ever learn anything about that?"

"I…no, but Sam did. She found out what I'd been going through and confronted Beck about it, bringing him to our apartment. She even accused him right there of being the Seaside Killer. Beck said he wasn't, he said he knew why, because something was wrong with Andre's brain, that he never stopped obsessing over Jade. When Beck decided not to allow Andre to act on his obsessions, and once he got Andre to do what he wanted, he had no further need. He didn't want Andre to harm his own family at that point, and told him to stay away."

"You're telling us Beck confessed to you?"

"I'm telling you what I know. Beck masterminded the murders. Andre may be the serial killer, and maybe he would have been that without Beck's involvement, but Beck is responsible for Andre killing Lisa White and the Vega sisters."

Cat leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, glaring into Jade's. "What he said that day Sam brought him to our home. He said he still wanted to be with Lisa, more than you." Jade gasped out and Cat began to sneer. "But Lisa didn't want him, and he didn't want to be blamed for her murder…so he made Andre do it. When Tori found out, Beck said he had no choice..."

Jade's blood turned to ice as Cat's nervous gaze moved into hers. She lifted her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, stifling a frustrated and painful cry as the girl said her final, earth shattering words.

"She once rejected him too."

* * *

><p>So the final piece of the puzzle comes, but it's a shocking one. Freddie and Jade have both received some rather painful information. Sam's killer walks just as the Vega murderer. Beck's role appears to be much greater than we assume. What are your thoughts? What runs through the mind?<p> 


	25. Descent into Madness

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: I feel as though I'm depriving you of half the chapter since this was written _with_ the last chapter but separated for length purposes. Andre's interrogation is a separate piece and should be separated from Cat's statement, but still, here you are.

* * *

><p>Chapter 25 (Descent to Madness)<p>

It took some time to recover mentally and emotionally from what Cat said, and even then Jade was still shaken up. She needed proof, she needed somebody else to say something that would make this add up.

That's when she turned to Andre. Even though he had his lawyer, they had enough to put him away for the murders. If Beck truly masterminded everything, and Andre was just a loyal assassin, he wouldn't want to go down alone.

In order to put Beck away for certain, she had to rely on Andre's information. Although the security footage and Robbie's testimony was enough to show that Beck lied about being on the grass outside.

"I have a lawyer," Andre said as Jade entered the room. "You can't talk to me."

"Shut up." Andre jerked his head back and Jade approached him. "You have a right to the lawyer, and you don't have to talk to me. You know this, and you understand your rights I presume?" Andre nodded and raised an eyebrow at her. "You understand that you are under arrest also for the murders of Lisa White, Victoria Vega, and Katrina Vega."

Andre's mouth fell into a frown and he crossed his arms. There was a coldness in his eyes that could steal her breath and chill her bones. Once she thought of herself as the iciest and coldest person around, and over the years she saw criminals colder than she, but nothing could prepare her from the look of death in Andre's eyes.

She took a deep breath and set down a picture of the bloody clothes. Andre's eyes widened and his lips separated. "Beck buried these in his father's yard. He says you asked him to burn them, but he kept them preserved for you." Andre's eyes slid upwards and his eyebrows moved together. "Beck also kept his father's gun. He claims you stole the gun, forced him to the door of the Vega apartment, and knocked him out on the spot."

Andre shifted to the right and looked away as his lawyer informed Andre to remain quiet. Jade was more than happy to ignore him. "We found your semen on Lisa White's body. The traces of your DNA match the victims of the Seaside Killer." Andre's eyes darted back to her and he started to growl. "Your blood was found in Tori Vega's bedroom, presumably after a fight with Trina before she was gunned down. Your blood is on this hoodie, the same hooded jacket that contains a mixture of blood spatter from both sisters, and the same jacket seen by Miss White's kid brother on the day of her murder."

"Okay, so you have all of this." Andre shrugged and leaned his head to the right. "What motive would I have?"

"Obsession. Obsession with me." She blew out a heavy exhale and closed her eyes. "How close am I, Andre? You thought that by killing those three you could be with me?"

"Andre," The lawyer said quickly, "You do not need to-"

"Shut up." The lawyer gasped and Andre slammed a fist on the table. "She knows something more. I have a feeling a little mouse might have squeaked, Beck was trying to keep her quiet…" Jade smirked, but the lawyer moved his hand over his forehead, groaning in defeat.

Andre started to smile, and his tongue slid carefully across his lips. "I am the Seaside Killer. I'll confess." A shiver ran down Jade's spine as she watched his movements. While terrified, she knew better than to show it. "Every girl I slaughtered out there, I was thinking of you. It's true."

Freddie entered the room, looking at her with great concern. He wanted to protect her from this monster, she could see it in his eyes, but this was her moment now. Andre was hers, but she would be more than happy to let Freddie have Beck. That would be his; for Sam.

"You know, I was just thinking about how I couldn't have you, and angry that Beck had broken his promise to let me have you. I wanted Beck to know what I would do to you if I ever came back…what I would do to him, to his family." Andre rolled his head to the right and chuckled dryly. "I'm the Seaside Killer, it's true. I forced my wife to take the bodies to the docks, that I did."

She swallowed her bile and forcibly closed her throat. Her nausea had increased so that she needed a bucket, but she was doing her best to hold the vomit down.

Andre slicked his tongue over his lips again and sank his eyebrows in the middle. For the first time, Jade was seeing the evil inside of him. "The idea to use weapons belonging to someone else? Not my idea, but Beck's, unintentionally. Why? Because he once told me the best way to get away with a crime was to not be the original owner of the weapon."

"Why, Andre? What drove you to kill?"

"I can't stand not having what I want. Women have been pissing on me all my life anyhow, whether it was my own grandmother, you, or whatever other woman out there…" He closed his eyes and slammed an angry fist on the table. "But if I'm going down for Tori and Trina, if I'm going down for that Lisa bitch, I'm not going down alone."

"Okay Andre."

"No." Andre's shoulders fell and he shook his head. "Every serial killer has a trigger; something that sets them off." He leaned his body forward, completely ignoring the attorney who had all but given up on telling him to shut up. Jade didn't budge, but held a stern glare with him, letting him know she wasn't backing off. "Beck was my trigger. Playing with me, using me, telling me he'd let me have what I wanted…if I just did what he wanted."

"What did he want, Andre?"

"He wanted Lisa, but she didn't want him." He scoffed and roared with cold laughter. "She rejected him when he said he wanted her back. He was going to call it off with you." Her eyes widened and her heart dropped into the storm inside her. "She threatened to tell you about it, but he couldn't have it. He told me to kill her, said if I killed her he'd break up with you and then you'd be all mine. He lied."

"Evidently." Jade put her hand to her chest, now playing him as she gasped in shock. "Clearly he lied to you. I'm so sorry, Andre. I wish I had known how you felt." Andre's eyebrow rose and his mouth twisted into a snarl.

"Don't think I'm not intelligent enough to recognize reverse psychology, Jade." She narrowed her eyes and he leaned back slowly. "That little Tori found out what happened, and of course I didn't want to kill her…but Beck said she had to die."

"What happened that night, Andre?"

"Simple answer? Tori and her sister died. My answer, you get what you want…Beck pounded on that door saying you were hurt, and Tori opened it up. She let him inside, then I followed after him. When she saw me, Beck put his hand over her mouth, threatening to kill the baby in the room if she screamed…I led her into the bedroom and she turned to me. Beck kept lookout."

As Andre spoke, he wrote down his confession on a sheet of paper. His lawyer no longer made any attempt to keep him from this, but rather, appeared to be both disgusted and terrified.

"I aimed the gun at her, listening as she begged me not to shoot her. She tried to remind me of everything we had, of the history we had. But she forgot I'd already killed one person, what was one more?" Jade closed her eyes and felt Freddie's hand on her shoulder. "I shot her once, first in the stomach."

Andre's left hand tapped furiously on the table as his eyes fixated on the rushing pen. "I then shot her a second time, in the head, and watched her fall. Then I heard something else, Trina was up and she knocked Beck out. I turned around, panicking, and shot her once…but she was still up, she was still fighting me. I tried to stay up, tried to persist, and I did, only after being slammed into that damned dresser and cutting my lip wide open."

This was information that had never been given to the media, so there was no way to know it unless they'd been at the scene.

Jade stood up and felt like a weight had dropped from her shoulders. She walked around the table, astonished that Andre was still talking. His eyes were wild and his speech frantic as though he was trying to get every single word out before she reached him.

"I stood there, panting; breathing so heavily and taking in what I had just done. Beck woke up and you know what? He told me he would burn my clothes for me, so that nobody would ever know! We saw Cat and Sam on their motorcycle, catching the air with no other cars in the road. Cat looked _right at us_. I didn't want to kill her, not her, I begged for Beck not to make me kill her and he said he would threaten her and nothing more. He killed her roommate; no, hired someone else to do that."

A vein was bulging from his neck, and sweat was running along the side of his head. "I didn't know it was just another lie, something he could use against me, to make sure I went away and he didn't. I didn't know, that is, until he called me several weeks ago to let me know that you were just around the corner to putting me away. I _had_ to kill him!"

Andre twitched for a second, growling like a rabid dog. "I kidnapped your daughter and told Taylor to kill her. Beck tried to stop me, he tried to protect you and his daughter. I thought, the hypocrite! I shot him. Then there was you. I had to make you stop, to make you afraid."

"Well, Andre." He shot her a glare and growled venomously as she approached was glad that Beck cared enough about his kids to protect them, but that didn't take away from his crime. She had many questions for him, but wasn't sure if she could face the man.

Freddie cleared his throat and Andre looked to him for a moment before bowing his head. "I'm not afraid of you." Jade pulled Andre up, grabbed his wrists and threw the cuffs on them. "Andre Harris…you're going away for a long time."

She had mixed feelings about putting the cuffs on him. Part of her was ecstatic that the person responsible for Tori and Trina would be behind bars, but then her work truly wasn't finished, and she was horrified to learn the truth of her husband's involvement.

Neither Tori or Trina had to die because of him, or worse, because of Andre's sick and twisted obsession. If only her friends had never been caught up in this man's insanity, or even Beck's manipulative ways, then maybe none of this would have ever happened.

When she looked to Freddie, the concern in her eyes told her all she needed to know. "Don't beat yourself up." It was time to close this case for good, but in order to do that, they had to face Beck one final time.

This time she wasn't sure who the greater monster was; Andre the serial killer, or the manipulative puppetmaster she'd been sleeping beside for sixteen years. Still, she was more terrified to approach her own husband now than she'd been approaching Andre.

* * *

><p>Andre's words not only show what happened and just how messed up he is, but another contradiction to Beck's story regarding their approach on Tori. We'll see the mastermind next chapter. Next chapter is also a resolution to Freddie's own struggle, you'll see when that comes up. Jade's not going to be the one interrogating Beck, not first, but she will have her moment. You'll see what keeps her back next chapter, it's important to remember she is still a mother, and her daughter's awake and in stable condition...based on Andre's account, it's safe to say Vanessa now realizes or knows her father has done something incredibly bad.<p> 


	26. The Crafty Mastermind

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 26 (Crafty Mastermind)<p>

Before they could reach Beck, Jade had to check on her daughter. Vanessa was responsive and in stable condition now, and she was another key witness whether she realized it or not. Jade needed to know what Vanessa saw or heard, and if there had been any exchange between Andre and Beck.

Still, she knew it would be hard for her daughter to implicate her own father. While she wanted to be the big detective, she also wanted and needed to be the mother. She had to tell Vanessa that her daddy was going away for a very long time.

"Vanessa? Sweetheart?" Vanessa looked up from her bed. She had a bandage around her neck and a look of terrible grief on her face. Despite the sad eyes and quivering lips, Vanessa pulled her lips into a smile.

"Hi momma." Her voice was raspy and strained. Jade had Freddie stand by the door as she sat beside her daughter. "What's going to happen to Dad?" Jade ran her hand through Vanessa's hair and closed her eyes. "Mom? Dad tried to stop him, he did, but mom? I heard things…" Her heartbeat stopped and her eyes shot open.

"You heard what?"

"They were arguing. Dad and that man with the woman." Vanessa's eyes clenched shut and she shook her head from side to side. "It was a rush, but I still heard. I know Dad's a…" The girl moved her head to the right and let a single sob fall from her lips. "Dad's going away, isn't he? It's just going to be me, you and Ryan now?"

"Sweetie…" Vanessa's head turned back to her. Her eyes were misty and her cheeks wet with fresh tears. Seeing no choice, she had to tell her daughter what was going on without giving away too much. "I'm sorry honey." Her chest trembled, and a dull ache was thrust throughout her body. "I promise you we will be okay. Your father-"

"You need a statement, right?"

"You don't have to."

"I do, because you always say…no matter what, catch the bad guys." Vanessa's strained voice seemed to worsen. She needn't speak so much right now, or she would run the risk of hurting herself more. "You always say to do the right thing, so I'm going to do the right thing. Mom, Dad's a murderer." Vanessa's body twitched and a sob shook through her. "He's a bad guy. I don't _want_ that, but I can't change it."

"Baby, you don't have to say it now."

"Andre came in there, he said Dad 'promised' him something that he never gave." Vanessa closed her eyes and clasped her hands around Jade's, squeezing tight. "Dad told him after getting him to kill them…to kill Rachel's mom and aunt…that he had no more reason for Andre, that Andre was too crazy. Dad said he wasn't going to let Andre hurt you or me, and he tried to kill him but Andre grabbed the gun. They struggled and fought, I tried to help dad but that woman held me down…Dad lost…"

Vanessa peered off to the side, staring at nothing in particular. The hurt and anger in her eyes was evident, and it overpowered the grief that the child felt. Not only had she witnessed something she never should have, she learned a secret that Jade hoped her daughter wouldn't have to struggle with.

"The woman, Taylor, she was told to kill me so I wouldn't talk. She didn't want to kill me, she wanted to wait…to see if you and the police would arrive. She wanted to die."

Jade wrapped her arms around Vanessa, holding her close. "I'm sorry baby." Her daughter let loose her tears and wept into her shirt. "I'm sorry." Vanessa moaned and buried her face deeper into Jade's shirt.

"I love you, momma. I thought I wouldn't see you again."

"I'm here. I'm here and I'll never let anything happen to you. You or Ryan."

Freddie approached and put a hand to her shoulder. "Will you be alright?" He asked. She looked up and pursed her lips. "Stay with her, Jade." She frowned and Vanessa reached up, taking Freddie's hand and giving him a sad smile.

"You've been there for my mom, right?" Freddie chuckled once and slowly nodded. "Are you leaving?" Freddie knelt beside the bed and smiled reassuringly at the child. His hand slid through her hair and he shook his head.

"No, but I do have to deal with your father. He knows some things pertinent to investigation. I have to make that arrest, you understand." Vanessa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jade understood she wouldn't be present for this, and she was okay with that.

She leaned into Freddie, whispering softly. "I've taken Andre, I've avenged Tori and Trina with his arrest. They'll have their day in court with Sam when Andre and Beck take the stand. Go get him, and tell him…I'm getting a divorce…"

"I'm truly sorry, Jade."

"No…" She leaned her head into his shoulder and closed her eyes. He pat her back and looked over Vanessa, who had gone back to staring absently at the window of the room. Jade took a deep breath and lifted her head up. "I should have seen it, but I didn't. I'll be okay, though, as long as my children are fine, then I am fine. That man hurt us a long time ago, my parents were right, this is something that needed to happen."

"Alright. I'll be back."

When he found Beck, his blood was already boiling with rage. In his mind's eye he wanted to beat the shit out of this man for everything he'd done. Not only had he destroyed his wife and children, but he was responsible for pulling that trigger that killed Sam Puckett.

Freddie was as a calm, yet violent storm, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He slammed the door open and Beck's head shot up. The man was sitting in a wheelchair. His wrists were still cuffed and in his lap, and his eye was still bandaged up.

"I ought to put out your second eye." Beck's eyebrow rose and Freddie motioned for the officer in the room to get ready. "Guess what Beck, you've been lying to us. A long time too, it turns out…your wife wants a divorce." Beck's jaw dropped and Freddie clenched his fists. "But that's not all we know."

Freddie circled around the wheelchair and grabbed the handlebars. He lowered himself beside the man's bad side and whispered. "We know you hired Nora to murder Samantha Puckett." Beck's eyelid slid halfway and his eyebrow flattened above his socket.

"How could you even guess that."

"Turns out that partner of yours doesn't know how to keep tight lips." Beck's mouth dropped into a frown and Freddie began to push him. "And you're being transported to the station now, Beck-a-roo. Doc says you're able to leave."

The drive to the police station was exhilarating, especially since Freddie made sure to accelerate at every turn. He did say he wanted to get to the station as fast as possible

Once in the interrogation room, Freddie read Beck his rights and sat him down in the chair. "Oh don't think you're getting any sympathy from me because you got your ass shot."

"Where's my wife?"

"With her daughter." Freddie growled and smacked the table, causing Beck to flinch. "Truth time, Beck. Why'd you do it? What triggered the switch in that deranged little head of yours? You had a great life, a great woman and you were on your way to having a life that so many people fantasize about."

He straightened his back and looked to the observation mirror with a heavy expression. "You know someone else that fantasized about having a loving husband, beautiful children and that picket fence? Sam. It was all she dreamed about, living that cozy life. She didn't have to die."

"Didn't you figure out who did that?"

"Yes, but funny thing is." He moved to the other side of the table, leaned over it, and pointed at Beck. "A witness and Mr. Harris himself say that you had Nora kill her." Beck's frown deepened and he leaned sideways. "Oh and Andre talked, oh did he. We know everything, Beck, so I suggest you start talking. This is your chance to explain things."

His muscles grew tenser as he visualized Sam in his mind. He could still smell her scent and he could still see her hair swinging across her face as she turned, laughing joyously. He bit back his tears and glared at Beck, fully prepared to put another hole in this man's head if he had to come to that.

"Your wife is beside herself, Beck. Your daughter is crying her eyes out. It seems Vanessa heard a few things as well." Beck shut his eye and clenched his hands. "Now is your chance to prove to them that you're not a monster, unless of course, you'd like to say something more?"

"Fuck off."

"You're already under arrest for hindering police investigation. You're under arrest for a charge that says you were present and possibly involved in the murders of Tori and Trina Vega." Freddie could feel the blood rushing to his head, and his nostrils were flaring out like crazy. "I've sent an officer to the prison to question Nora Dershlitt some more, and Andre has already informed us that you masterminded both the murder of Lisa and the murder of the Vega sisters. Tell me he's lying, Beck. Tell me your daughter didn't hear you confess to Andre moments before he blew your brains out."

Beck let out a scoff and turned his head away.

"Tell me." He raised his voice and leaned himself further towards Beck, now practically screaming. "Tell me you had nothing to do with the murder of Samantha Puckett."

"Fine. Back off." Beck lashed out and Freddie leaned back slowly. "I assume you have evidence supporting my involvement in Sam's murder? Cat was the intended victim. Sam, like the damned Vega girls, was just in the wrong place at the wrong damned time."

His blood ran cold and his upper right lip twitched as Beck shrugged. He stared at the man's neck and envisioned his hands around his throat. How easy, he thought, it could be for him to snap Beck's neck in two.

"I was going to leave it alone. After getting Andre to kill Lisa for me, that was going to be it. I was going to cut that psychopath off and live a normal life with Jade." Beck's eye opened and he reclined in the chair. "Unfortunately he cried to Tori, which pissed her off, then cried to me that Tori would go to the police. I told him…Tori had to die. I wasn't expecting Trina to come after me."

"Okay."

"I told that _bitch_ if she screamed, I'd kill the baby." Beck sneered, and the skin around his free eyebrow bulged outward. "I didn't think Andre was going to assault Lisa sexually, I didn't plan on that. I didn't plan on Trina kicking the shit out of him either. He couldn't do anything right, he made a fucking mess. I kicked him out, told him to stay the hell away from me, from Jade, and from my family. I kept the clothes and the gun in case I ever had to put a leash on that dog's neck."

He crossed his arms and sneered at Beck, but continued to listen to the man's confession. Beck glanced out to the side and groaned. "Of course Cat posed a problem, so we had to keep her in line. I did so by threatening her, and then her bitch roommate called me up one day."

His anger flared out and he tucked his hands beneath his arms. It was the only way to keep from lunging at the man. Difficult as it was, and it took every ounce of strength not to lunge, he was able to keep himself calm.

"See Nora did right, she kept it clean and also was able not to trace it back to me. Goddamn Andre took my gun, which of course, traces back to me. Also assaulting my ex-girlfriend." Beck hung his right foot over his left knee and tilted his head to the side. "Who in the hell do you think is going to get blamed for that?" He hummed curiously and smacked his lips. "Right. Back to me, then."

"Andre says you contacted him a few weeks ago. Is this true?"

"Of course. I wanted that little prick to know the law was closing in on him. I knew all about the Seaside murders." Beck waved his hand dismissively in the air. Freddie was horrified, but he still expected this. "I let him have his fun, murdering those innocent girls-fantasizing about _my wife_ while doing so…picking women who had men in their lives that closely resembled me. Yeah, I knew about it, and I honestly didn't care what he was doing. He'd get caught eventually, and I had evidence waiting for him to be put away forever."

It was beginning to fall in place now. It was going to be hard to tell Jade what realization had just dawned upon Freddie, but she was going to have to know. His breathing grew shallow and he raised a finger. "Then all that support you gave Jade as she pursued the case…"

Beck's eyebrow rose and his lips pulled into his cheek. "Being the supportive husband. Yeah. I did a lot of abuse, cheating and manipulating back when we first got married, so I decided to suck up to her and support her."

"You let her find the murder weapon. The gun. Then you told her where the clothes were."

"All to implicate Andre, and while she still believed in my innocence, I was fairly certain I could pull the strings enough to put the focus on him." Beck rolled his eye and it narrowed as an aggressive growl fell from his lips. "I would talk her out of even looking my way if I had to, but goddamn Andre…I was not expecting him to come into my house and take my daughter."

"You should have known what an unpredictable mind you were messing with, Mr. Oliver." Freddie sat down and stared at the man. He felt no remorse whatsoever coming from him. Not for the Vega girls, not for Lisa, and not for Sam.

They didn't matter to this man. Not even Jade mattered to this man; all that mattered was himself. Numero uno, number one, Beck Oliver. Lisa died because he couldn't get the pleasure he wanted from her. Tori and Trina died because he didn't want to go to prison or lose Jade. Sam was killed because someone knew enough to send him away for life.

What was the point of staying angry any longer? He couldn't waste all his anger on a man that just didn't care about anything other than himself.

"Beck." Freddie removed the pack of cigarettes from his coat and laid it down between him and the other man. Beck stared down at it and huffed. "You see these?"

"Yeah. You smoke those when you get real stressed and real angry. What about them?"

"Sam would kill me if she knew I had them, or that I smoked them as a result of all the stress I had chasing her killer." He turned his head and narrowed his eyes. "I had in my mind that I needed that relief, it would make me forget and I could put all of my anger into one little cigarette…and let it burn."

"Seems like a waste."

"Yeah. It was." Freddie put his hand over the pack and waited for Beck's gaze to slide back into his. "Smoking a cigarette wasn't going to take away the stress, the dreams, the nightmares. Smoking one in a while wasn't bringing her back, and smoking it wasn't getting even with the person that took her life. Why did I smoke for that person when they didn't care?"

"Why do you?"

"I thought I knew." He shoved the pack to the side. It slid over the edge and hit the floor with a small thump. Several cigarettes rolled out of the box. "But I don't know anymore. Sam would never have wanted me to smoke them. Her mother smoked, you know? She hated the smell of cigarettes, she hated the taste."

Freddie smirked at a fond memory and started to chuckle. "I remember her talking about a guy she dated that smoked, she said kissing him was like kissing Satan's asshole."

Beck chuckled once, then shrugged. Freddie's eyebrows came together and he felt the anger inside of him fade into pity.

"You know, I'm not angry. I have no reason to be angry with you. I've been angry a long time, wanted to look into her killer's eyes and ask why. Just like Jade wanted to do with the one that killed her friends…but I think we have our answer. It's often the same with ninety percent of criminals, they only think about themselves. Never the lives they destroy…but you know what? Life goes on, Beck. When you realize it's not all about you."

"Great."

Freddie pushed himself up and smirked confidently at the man. "You're being charged with the murders of Lisa White, Victoria Vega, Katrina Vega, and Sam Puckett. You're being charged with conspiracy to murder, accessory to murder-"

"Accessory?" He shot a glare at Freddie and spoke up. "Accessory means-"

"Did you or did you not just confess to knowing about the Seaside murders?"

"Crap…"

As he read the remaining charges, he felt a great sense of relief sweeping over him. In the corner of his eyes, he thought for sure that he saw Sam standing by with that same smile on her face that he always thought of. Beside her he thought he saw the fleeting image of Beck's initial three victims.

They had a long road ahead of them, but for now, the killers were off the streets.

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><p>Still a ways to go but we're in the end swing. Jade will have her chance to look Beck in the eyes and demand an answer, but this chapter was Freddie's moment. He still has one more thing, something I know none of you will see coming which he and Jade are already aware of, but it will be part of what truly closes things for him while explaining what he's really been on. What are your thoughts regarding this chapter?<p> 


	27. Betrayed

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: To the guest reviewer someone random, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I root for the villain a lot myself too but no I'm afraid most of the twists and secrets are done now. This tale's coming to an end, the story's done being written. Chapter 30 is the last chapter.

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><p>Chapter 27 (Betrayed)<p>

"This is off the record." Jade sat before her husband in the interrogation room. Freddie was in front of the door, and the recorder was off. Several hours had passed since Freddie questioned the man, but now she wanted a piece of him. "There are so many things I want to do to you."

Beck's eyes were devoid of emotion. His hands were on the table, with his wrists bound by the cuffs. Jade pointed to Freddie and scrunched her nose. "I should let him beat the shit out of you, for Sam's sake at least. For Tori and for Trina, but police brutality is too easy to claim."

The man remained silent, much to Jade's chagrin. She not only wanted him to give her answer, she wanted some kind of emotion. The air could be felt being sucked out of the room with each passing second, almost an indication that there was a level of evil in this man that she never before saw. "You understand the reason you're here?" Beck turned his eyes to her and shrugged.

"You've already got a confession out of me. I was the one that ordered the deaths." Jade leaned back slowly, her hands were trembling violently and the fire within her was growing dim with each second this man's eyes were on her. "I didn't expect Andre to fuck the first girl, but I guess that was the closest he was going to get to having something that I had. Miserable bastard."

"I don't think you understand, you've destroyed more than just the lives of three-no, four women." Sam was one of his victims now as well. The man manipulated a woman who hated the girl already, which made Nora easy to convince. "You took two mentally challenged nutjobs-Andre Harris and Nora Dershlitt and used them as weapons of convenience…but we've established that."

"Then what do you want to hear?" Beck raised his voice and opened his hands up. "You want to hear that I lied to everyone for sixteen years? Okay, yes I did." She flinched and her eyes shut tight, creating lines that stretched out from her sockets. "Do you want to hear that I didn't really care about you or our children?" Her eyes flew open and her lips separated, but her throat closed on her.

"You won't hear that, because I did. I did care about you, but are you actually going to believe it?" She felt as though she were the one under the gun now, with the bullets tearing through her piece by piece. Her arms, her legs, and her head were all throbbing with this painful sensation, but no matter how much she wanted to remove herself from this, she couldn't.

"No," she replied with a heavy heart. Her voice fell away into the silence, and her heart broke as the memories of her once close knit family.

How could she have let this happen?

"I don't believe it." Beck frowned and she looked away from him. Maybe he loved her at one point of time, there was no question about that. "I _trusted_ you. I thought I knew you. "I loved you, our children loved you. Hell, Jason and Rachel trusted you too." She threw her arm to the door and raised her voice to match the anger and pain that was bursting inside. "I have to do my job, but at the same time, tell them that you're the one responsible. I have to tell my children that daddy's a murderer."

She stood up and leaned over him, glaring into his eyes. "You might not have been Seaside, but you may as well have been just as responsible. I mean what did you think was going to happen; Andre would destroy himself? Wind up in prison like Nora? Did you honestly think you were going to get away with it?"

"I never would have had Tori killed. I couldn't control Andre from the get-go. He assaulted Lisa, told me he did, and then he broke down to Tori and Cat. I thought for sure they'd go after the nutball, but they never even suspected him. I figured if I pushed him away, controlled anyone that might have known about the murder; fine. So long as I could get started on a new life. You were my second chance, you and the kids. I loved all of you."

Her nostrils flared open and her eyebrows slid down in the middle of her forehead. She envisioned her hands around his neck, but as much as she wanted to take him out, she would let the courts have him.

"You're never going to see them again, Beck." Beck raised his eyebrows. She put her hands to her hips. He strung his family on, and in his own hopes for self-preservation and the preservation of his family, he caused them the most injury. "Vanessa and Ryan. You will never see them again. Maybe they'll seek you out when they're older, assuming the courts don't take you first, but until they're eighteen…I promise, you will never see them. You lost that right."

It was one thing for a detective to notify the family of the victim when a suspect has been arrested. This was normally the greatest feeling of relief and satisfaction, but not this time. This time she had to do damage control, and she expected a mixture of emotions aside from relief that the killer had finally been taken in.

"Now." She breathed out and let the silence of the room fill her. Beck was hunched over his hands now, his head was bowed but there was still no emotion in him. Even his speech had been primarily empty. "I can't look at you, I can't even talk to you right now. Is there anything you have left to say?"

"What do you want to hear? What's going to justify anything to you?"

At once the tears she'd been holding back erupted and ran down her face. "Nothing." Her voice shook and she turned hastily towards the door. "Nothing can justify. Tori was one of my best friends, and Trina."

Her fingers curled into her palms and clenched so tight as to draw blood beneath her nails. "I was working on being a better person to her, we were starting to be friends. You took them, Beck." He looked up at her and his lips remained tightly shut. Jade narrowed her eyes and scowled at the man. "But you only ever thought about yourself."

Jade gasped, and the air in her lungs stopped in her throat. "M-Maybe they meant nothing to you, maybe Sam meant nothing to you, and even Lisa…but they meant something."

"Their lives were not meaningless. They had people that loved them, people that cared about them. They had a _future_, but from the moment you entered their lives…" She approached him, now with such rage in her voice that she was all but screaming at the top of her lungs. "The moment you entered their lives, their fate was sealed. Andre's not worse than you, he's just a tool. Nora was just a tool. You're worse than they are, you're worse than evil, you _are_ evil."

Beck straightened his back and flared his nostrils. His chest expanded and the skin around his nose started to crinkle. "Jade."

"We're done here. Goodbye Beck. I say this not as a homicide detective, but as someone that survived you…I hope you rot, and burn in hell."

A sudden realization came over her that stopped her heart in mid-beat. Beck's proposal, and how close she'd come to turning him away. The proposal was literally the only thing that made her take him back, and if she'd listened to her parents, she might have been a victim of either Beck or Andre.

Her knees started to buckle, and her stomach spun around like a sailboat in the midst of a storm. Freddie caught her just as she started to collapse, and she immediately started motioning him out of the room.

Once out, she broke down and let him hold onto her as violent sobs fell from her trembling lips. "L-Lisa wouldn't take him back," she whispered between her sobs. "She died because she turned him away." Her hands tightened around Freddie's coat, and her tears were now soaking the dark tie he was wearing. "Freddie. If I didn't accept his proposal…"

"Don't think about that. Think about what's important right now." What was important was going to her children and telling them that the monster was their father. What was important was notifying the family of Tori and Trina that the person responsible was someone they'd been so close to for so long.

"How am I supposed to do this? How can I-I can't separate myself from it anymore. They'll hate me."

"No they won't. It was Beck that did this, not you. You're as much a victim as any of them." She gasped softly and buried her face further into his jacket. He rubbed her back gently and looked up at the door. "We should probably get started. I need to notify Melanie."

"Melanie? Sam's twin?"

"Yeah, she needs to know the truth of what happened to Sam." Melanie had it hard, from what she understood. Pam Puckett died from lung cancer about three years ago, and the girls' father still had never made himself known after stepping out on his kids when they were just small children.

"She has no family of her own, does she? I mean, losing her sister and her mom, did you ever find their dad?" Freddie looked around a couple years prior, but that was the last Jade ever heard about that investigation.

"I did." She pursed her lips and looked up at him. Her thoughts were distracted from Beck for the moment, giving her a chance for relief. The skin around Freddie's face tightened and he clicked his tongue against his cheek. "He died in a prison riot about eight to nine years ago. He'd been living under another name somewhere in New York and apparently got job as a correctional officer."

"Oh. So you've already had to notify Melanie about that?"

"Yep. Poor girl is not happy to see me come around if I've got bad news."

Jade looked over when she heard a door open. Another officer was escorting Beck to the cells. Beck's head was down and his face was shrouded by his hair. His shoulders were slouched and he was moving at a slow pace.

As he passed by, Jade held her breath and pulled herself away from Freddie. Beck didn't make any attempt to look up, and remained silent. He and the officer disappeared around the corner, and Jade felt a new, but odd feeling inside of her.

"Why am I wasting my tears, Freddie?"

"Because you deserve to. It's understandable and okay to cry."

"I know, but…" She wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and scowled. "I can't even figure out if Beck feels anything. I can't read him, and don't know why I'm wasting time feeling sorry for myself when he doesn't even react. I need to be strong."

"So be strong, but let yourself hurt a little bit. Don't bottle it up…" She chuckled once and Freddie walked past her. "Trust me, that will do more harm than good."

"You're right. You're right, we have a job to do. I need to be strong; I can do this." Though it felt like the end of the world, she knew she could make it past this. She had a support system, and she would be the support for both her daughter and her son.

Jason had Lindsay now, as the two did begin to date with some further encouragement from Rachel. Those three could make it together, without a doubt, and Lindsay's two kids would bring a little more light to their lives.

"Let me call my parents first." The media would want to hear the results of the case, but Jade wanted to be the first to deliver the news of Beck's arrest to the Jason and the others. Still, she needed to lean on her own parents before informing anybody. "They need to know what happened."

"You afraid they'll tell you the standard 'told you so' spiel?"

She took a deep breath and removed her cell phone from her pocket. "No. I know they won't."

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><p>So what are your thoughts here?<p> 


	28. One of a Kind

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 28 (One of a Kind)<p>

"What are you going to do about this?" Tori's question played in her head as an ancient memory unfolded in her dreamlike state. Jade was beside Tori on the Vega family couch, staring at the footage of Beck, Andre and Robbie alone with Trina in the house.

She averted her eyes upon hearing Trina scream for her dad to come downstairs. "I see nothing wrong with it." The three boys flew behind the couch just as David came down the stairs in both a drunken and exhausted state.

"Look again." Beck was taking the lead, telling David they were only having a puppet show despite Trina's exclamation that they were manhandling and fighting over her. "How can you sit here and tell me you trust them? I know this was a while ago, but Jade, they lied to our father and they hurt Trina."

"Beck has a reason. He has to have a reason."

"You're justifying this because he's your boyfriend! That's all!" Tori slammed the laptop shut and left the couch with an angry huff. Jade folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head. Her eyes fixated on her fingers while tears ran down her cheeks.

"Don't mind her." Her head lifted at the sound of Trina's voice. She looked over her shoulder and smiled guiltily at the girl. "She's just stressed." Trina rounded the couch and sat beside Jade. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Trina. I'm sorry about the guys." She closed her hands and quieted her voice. "That's just how Beck is, it always has been. I'm sorry."

"So, why are you still with him? You're clearly upset with the man."

"We're dating again, but he tried to kiss Tori." Trina cleared her throat and looked over to the kitchen doorway. "He said it was nothing, that it didn't matter. He always reels me right back in…I don't know how to stay away from him." Trina curled her lips up and moved her hand to Jade's shoulder.

"Just be strong. If you're really not happy with him, don't stay. You're stronger than he is and you're not tied to that man."

"I don't think he's dangerous." Still, she would never have known Beck could go so far as to lead the guys into such a situation that Tori was showing her. Maybe there was more to him than she realized.

Jade opened her eyes and shook the dream from her head. She was resting on Freddie's shoulder in the back of a car headed towards Melanie's home in upper Los Angeles. "You all right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Jade rubbed her eye and sat upright. "Just a dream." It was a familiar dream to her; she would have it at least once a month over the several years. "They tried to help me, to get me to see the signs. Same as Mom and Dad. I just never wanted to think Beck was capable…but all these years it was staring me in the face."

"Nobody ever wants to think of someone they know as being capable of murder. Unfortunately everyone is capable."

The car stopped at the curb and Jade leaned against the door. Freddie excused himself and left the car. She didn't feel like moving, so she stayed and watched the man approach Melanie Puckett's home.

Freddie's back was to the door and his hands were at his waist. He looked to the sky and slid his right hand behind his neck. His broadened shoulders sloped down and his face was tense.

The door opened up, and two young girls of about seven years shot out into the yard. Jade raised her eyebrows and smiled at the twins. They looked just like their mother, though they had dark brown hair that feathered out around their shoulders.

Melanie exited the door, and Freddie turned to face her, dropping his hand to his waist. The woman's hair was up in a bun, her eyes were narrow and her lips were pressed tight.

After a few seconds, Melanie started to fall to her knees. Freddie caught her with his arm around her waist and held her close. The two young girls ran up to their mother and reached up, but all it looked that Melanie could do was scream into her cupped hands.

They held that pose for what seemed an eternity. Jade pre ssed her hand against the window and furrowed her brow. The twins were hugging their mother's legs and looking at each other with wide eyes.

Melanie eventually pulled away and Freddie crouched to the level of the twins. There were tears in his eyes, but his lips were curved in a painful attempt to reassure the children with a smile.

She was fascinated with how good he was with children, but then, officers had to be. Her heart went out to this family more than anything. She watched the rest of the scene unfold; Freddie hugged the twins, then watched as Melanie ushered them back into the house.

They shared a last, fleeting glimpse before Melanie reentered the home. Freddie pushed his hands into his pockets and kicked a stone over before returning to the car.

"Hard, isn't it?" Jade asked as he climbed into the back seat. Freddie's eyes closed over and he slowly nodded his head. The tears were still leaving his eyes, though she wasn't shocked. "Weren't they at least relieved to know Sam's killer would be behind bars?"

"Yeah." His breath fell out sharply and his hand swept through his hair. "Melanie always thought it was Nora. She never expected Nora was hired-but none of us did." The car started up and ran over a speed bump, causing her to jolt forward. Freddie looked at her with a sad smile. "You know, all these years, I don't think I ever told you about how we met. Sam, Carly and myself."

"School, right?"

"Yeah, but how we actually became friends." Freddie looked over his shoulder and his brow started to furrow. "Like Sam, my father left my mother behind. I grew up hating the man for it, you know. I swore I'd never be the kind of man he was." She frowned, and without thinking, reached over to his hand.

Freddie let out a single grunt, then closed his hand around hers. "Carly's mom didn't abandon her family like our dads, but Carly always felt like it. The truth of the matter was, her mother was in the military just like Steven. She died overseas when Carly was a baby. She understood what it was like to grow up not having your parents around, even her dad was never around…so it was common ground for the three of us."

"I understand."

"Sam would always tell me, Carly too but not as much, that she'd kill me if I turned into our dads." Freddie started to chuckle and he brought his gaze forward. "Mom told me the truth of my own dad, though. He didn't just leave, she pushed him away."

Freddie's eyes narrowed and his jaw locked in place. "I was still angry with my father. He never made an attempt to locate me, and I never wanted to find him. I'm sure he's still alive somewhere, but I don't care. He was never interested in finding anything out about me, so I never held an interest in finding out about him."

"You're not your father, though." Freddie rolled his head to the right, staring at her as though she'd grown another head. Jade brought her shoulders up and looked to the back windshield with a heavy sigh. "You've told me about them, but tell me what happened. I don't think you've ever explained about the girls."

"She was vulnerable. We both were. She was more than just a victim to me, she was a friend and someone I cared about. We met under odd circumstances, but spoke together when Sam came forward about her sister being her actual twin…but we didn't spend a lot of time together until after Sam's murder."

"Right." Freddie looked away and huffed. Jade squeezed his hand and waited for him to look back at her. "It's okay."

"We were upset for a long time over Sam's loss, and we were comforting each other. One thing led to another, we kissed and spent the night together. The next morning, she told me it shouldn't have happened-and I agreed." Jade closed her eyes, wincing as her heart lurched forward.

"Aw Freddie."

"It was a mistake, we wrote it off and went our separate ways." He scratched his hair and curled his lips inwards. "I got the letter about three to four months later."

She knew bits and pieces of the rest. Melanie didn't want him around, she accused him of having sex with the image of Sam in mind. It was along the same lines as when the two first met in high school, and he willingly dated her thinking it was Sam playing a trick on him.

"Melanie still tells her girls her father was just a man that left her after a one night stand." Freddie ran his hand over his face and let out a heavy sigh. "I still worry about her from time to time, and the girls too. I worry she might be turning into her mother. Sam was always the furthest from letting that happen to herself, because she knew what her mother was like and knew she didn't want to be that person. Melanie was always away."

"You're not your father, though, because you clearly care. Maybe one day those children will want to know the truth about their father, they'll want to find you. You clearly care about them-and you said your father didn't care."

"Right."

"So you're not your father. You're a good man." She smiled and moved her left arm around his shoulder. She hoped to reassure him and provide whatever comfort she could. "Look, you've kept me on my feet during all of this. You've made it known you still care about Sam's family, and you've done what you can to help my family out…even giving me a chance to take care of Vanessa during her time of need rather than letting me focus only on getting my job done. I needed that time with her, and you recognized that. You're a good person, and you care about the people around you, so I never want to hear this 'I'm my father' crap from you, got that?"

He held his stare until his eyebrows rose and a smirk spread across his face. "Sure. I got that."

"You know I'm here for you as your friend and as your partner on the job. If you ever need anything, you know you can talk to me."

"Same here. I know things are going to be tough on you and your family, so you need someone to lean on, you got me." Freddie glanced in the rearview mirror, and Jade set her head to his shoulder. She was more exhausted than depressed, and his shoulder was fairly comfortable to use as a pillow. "You know, Sam would probably have killed me if I turned out to be the kind of man our fathers had become."

"Unless you decide to abandon them. You have to live your life, but don't give up on the girls. Even Mr. Vega gave up, I think, but you don't have to give up. If Melanie doesn't want you around her kids, you don't need to be, you can wait for them to find you. When they do, it's up to you what happens."

"Well, I won't stay hidden, that's for damned sure."

Her heart rose and she started to smile. "Good." She was impressed with his tenacity. It was important that he still care about the people in his life, because that was the best way to know he was still stable. "I'll hold you that."

Her voice trembled and her hand curled around the collar of his shirt. "You know, Andre gave up on his kids, Beck gave up on us…." Freddie looked at her and his smile faded. She took a deep breath. "David stopped caring about his girls. You said Sam's and Melanie's dad abandoned them, and so did your dad. Even Spencer's father cut him off. So, what do I think? Right now, Freddie, you're one of a kind, and I hope you stay that way. Don't give up, I won't let you."

Freddie chuckled once and carefully moved an arm around her, then pat her shoulder gently. "I won't. I hope they'll want to know about me in the future, and I'll be ready. Let's focus on you and your kids first, though, I know you need to spend some time with them."

"I'll be fine."

"You mean you're going to take some time off to be with your family." Freddie smirked and Jade lifted her head, holding back a protest when she remembered something Tori and Trina once told them. It brought to mind the warning David said some time ago; to not become wrapped up in work.

"I guess I should spend some time with Vanessa and Ryan, they're going to need their mother. I don't want to turn into David and not be there for my kids when they need me."

"Exactly. I _can't_ be there for Sami and Angie." Freddie lifted his eyes up to the ceiling and dropped his shoulders. "And, I'm not going to risk a restraining order by trying to convince their mother to let me come around, but you have that option."

Jade lifted her head up and smiled when his determined gaze fell into hers. She felt her body relax, and a new sense of determination swelled from with. Perhaps it was the desire to be a mother above all else, she needed to protect her kids.

"Either let this crap with Beck send you into that dark spot where you can no longer focus on your kids and the people you care about, or rise above it. You're strong enough to do it, so do it."

"You're right, I'm not going to let this get the better of me. Beck isn't going to destroy us. I won't let that happen."

"See? You're one of a kind too." He started to laugh, and she joined in. It was amazing that she could laugh now, but it was important as well. It was all too easy to let this eat away at her, to kill her, but she had to push forward. "You push ahead, and so will I." He scratched his chin and closed his eyes.

"Sami and Angie are the reason I've been stuck in one place for so long. I can't do anything about the situation now, but I shouldn't let it hold me back anymore. So if we can agree on that; that I will try and move forward, so will you move forward from this?"

"Yes. It's a plan."

"Good."

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><p>Hm Well, thoughts?<p> 


	29. At Peace

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 29 (At Peace)<p>

Jason's home sat over thirty feet from the curb that Jade and Freddie were parked at. She'd contacted him and told him to round up everyone, and was aware that somewhere inside, they were all waiting for her.

Freddie leaned into her, whispering into her ear. "We have to go in at some point of time." She was glued to the chair, and her eyes remained frozen on the house. She'd done this a million times; notifying the victim's family that an arrest had finally taken place. Jade even ran this scenario in her head several times on the way here, so it couldn't possibly be as difficult as it felt.

"It's different. I know these people. I've eaten with them, played with them, these aren't just the victim's family…they're my family…" It should make this easier, yet every nerve in her body was screaming. "Rachel's been looking after Ryan, and I know they went and got Vanessa from the hospital, so she probably knows about Beck by now."

"If she does, what are you worried about?" Her head fell against the glossy window and the mist in her eyes melted into tears. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at Freddie's concerned eyes. "Jade?"

"What if they throw me out, Freddie? What if they think I should have known? I should have. They might think I'm as guilty as Beck."

"These are good people, Jade. They think of you like family, so I think they'll understand you were just as fooled by that man as they were. I also think, because of that, you know better than to go to them like a police officer notifying them of an arrest…go in there, treat these people like family, as you always have."

"Okay." She took a deep breath and moved her hand to the handle of the door. "I can do this." The curtain in the right window of the house shifted, causing Jade to tense up for a second. "Oh god, they know we've been sitting out here for however long."

Jade heard the driver side door open and her eyes widened when Freddie appeared outside her door. All of a sudden, her door opened and Freddie was guiding her out of the door. "Come on Jade, we can't be afraid of them."

She latched onto him, clutching his sleeves tightly between her fingers and leaning towards the right so she could get a better view of the window while using him to conceal herself.

A cell phone chimed out and caused her to jump. She grabbed the phone from her purse and saw a text from Vanessa. Her heart sank when she read the words. "Mom, they know, come inside please…I had to tell them why you weren't coming in…thanks a lot."

Jade's hand flew to her chest and she fell back against the car. "Oh no, my baby had to tell them because I hesitated." Freddie's hands slid to his waist and his head turned to the sky. She texted back to her daughter, wanting to apologize and know if the family hated her now.

The phone pinged before she could put it away.

"No, but they're upset. Obviously, and you waiting out there isn't helping."

With that, Jade shoved the phone into her purse and pushed her way past Freddie. "Let's go in now. They need me." Freddie waved his hands and smiled at her.

Once she reached the door, it opened and Rachel flew out, throwing her arms around Jade's neck. Rachel's face was wet and streaked with tears. Jade wrapped her arms around the girl's trembling body and whispered softly. "I'm sorry Rachel. I'm sorry. He had everyone fooled, even me."

Jade looked inside. The sight of everyone was upsetting. Jason and Lindsay were on the couch, gripping each other's hands. Vanessa was beside them, and Ryan was seated at her feet. David was in the recliner, staring heavily at the floor.

Not a single person had a dry face, and Jason looked ready to punch anything that crossed his path-which wasn't surprising. "So it's true?" David's ancient voice shook more than she'd ever heard, and the broken man seemed ready to fall apart. "Those two boys did it? I let them in my home, and they murdered my daughters."

"Yes." Jade put her arm around Rachel's shoulders and walked inside with her. "Beck Oliver and Andre Harris have been arrested for the murders. He…had all of us fooled, I'm sorry. I can't possibly imagine what you all must think."

Jason closed his eyes and leaned forward, bowing his head. His right fist was slamming into his left hand, and every muscle in his body was tense. "I want to kill him," Jason growled, "I want to kill them for what they did to Trina and her sister." Lindsay ran her hand over his back and looked over her shoulder.

"Johnny and Debbie are in the other room," Lindsay whispered, "So we're trying not to scream, to yell, to curse, but…I think you probably know how we feel. Betrayed, angry, hurt…" Lindsay stood up and approached Jade.

She held her breath and forced a smile as her eyes connected with Lindsay's. "Yeah." Lindsay reached up to Jade's shoulder with her right hand. Her left swept the tears from her own face and the woman's mouth struggled to hold a smile.

"But not with you." Lindsay's voice broke and she shook her head from side to side. "None of us are angry with you. We don't blame you for anything."

"Jade." She glanced at David. The old man's head was bowed and his hands were folded over the top of his cane. "Knowing police protocol, I understand you can't tell us the details of the case, but…my girls are gone, nothing will bring them back-did they suffer? Did those two bastards tell you why they did what they did?"

"They died because Tori found something out that she shouldn't have. They died because Tori confronted them first before going to the police."

A deadly calm swept over the room, and all eyes turned to the elder. His body began to shake, and a tear-filled whimper broke the silence. "Tori wouldn't have come. If only those girls trusted me, if I never treated them like shit, maybe they would have come to me." His trembling voice rose in volume, enough to shake the very ground at her feet. "I would have protected them, I _should have_ protected them. I was their _father_, I should have acted like it!"

Freddie spoke up next, which was a surprise. "Don't blame yourself, Mr. Vega." David raised his head, and his once pale eyes were red and puffed up. "Sometimes circumstances prevent us from being the type of father we want to be for our kids, and we want to protect them…but we can't, and what happens in their lives, we can't blame on our shortcomings."

"Then…they're at peace now. I can rest when those monsters are in prison." David bowed his head and raised his right hand up to the top of his head. "I will have to contact Holly and Gary. They couldn't make it out here. They didn't want to come out anyway, Holly can't stand to be."

Freddie set his hand to David's shoulders and started to smile. "At least you're here, then, and I'm sure your daughters acknowledge that, wherever they are."

Jade felt a tug at her pants and looked down to see Ryan at her feet. He'd leaned forward from where he was sitting and was looking up at her with a difficult expression. "Mom? Dad's really not coming back? He's in prison?"

She picked up her son and held him close, gently kissing him on the top of the head. "I'm sorry Ryan, your father did a very bad thing and he has to answer for it." She was trying to remain strong, and it was taking every ounce of effort to do so."

Her son wiped his eyes with his arm, then leaned close, whispering worriedly into her ear. "Vanessa hasn't said much. Is she going to be okay?" Jade's heart stopped and her eyes darted over to her daughter.

Vanessa was running her hand over the bandage on her neck. Her eyes were glued to the floor and her lips were pressed tightly against each other.

The doctor didn't want her doing anything that might stress her voice, her throat, or the wound. This included talking for a while, and of course it was a difficult for her to speak regardless. It was also hard for the girl to cry, as Jade realized her daughter wanted to do.

"She'll be alright, Ryan." Ryan was still young, and there were many things she didn't want and couldn't explain to the boy right now. He might not understand the impact that someone who got their throat cut might have, much less a person that survived it. It was one of the most lethal things to happen to a person, so Vanessa was fortunate that EMTs were on the scene, as required by protocol.

"Did Daddy hurt her?"

"No, another bad man hurt her. A bad man that was angry with your father; a woman that man knew did something to hurt your sister."

Ryan's eyes widened and he began kicking his feet in the air. A look of distress came over him as he looked to his sister. Jade set him down and he rushed over, cuddling up beside Vanessa.

The girl jerked to the right and looked down with a startled gaze as Ryan threw his arms around her waist. The girl smiled gently and put her arm around him, then set her head on top of his.

Jade glanced to the right and noticed a standing punching mannequin. It was an old one that Jason had stored away for several years; dust still lined the base of the bag. "You brought that out?"

"Of course," Jason answered, "Once I figured Beck and that friend of his…" Jason ran his hand over his neck, growling under his breath. "Lindsay and I took a few liberties."

"It felt good," Lindsay admitted with a casual shrug. "I think we all need to blow off some steam…You're welcome to it." She visualized Beck's head in place of the mannequin's, and her tongue slid carefully across her lip.

"It's tempting, but I think I'll let that out at the shooting range." She wasn't keen on martial arts, although she did know some combat techniques that her job called for, but boxing and martial arts wasn't truly her thing. "Thanks for the offer."

"No problem."

Jason stood up with a heavy sigh and walked over to her. He smiled, then gave her a quick and strong hug. "Thank you," he said with a hushed voice. His eyes closed and tears were running down his cheeks. "Thank you for everything. Not giving up on Trina, Tori. Looking after my family." Her heart jumped to her throat and she quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

"I…Yeah."

She looked over to Lindsay, astonished by the smile on the woman's face. "You will always have a place with us," Lindsay commented, "I hope you realize that. You're family to us, no matter what your husband did."

"Thank you." She swept her hair over her ear and clenched her eyes shut. "He might not be my husband much longer, Lindsay…"

"I understand. Believe me, nobody here would ask that you remain tied to that monster. No matter what, we've got your back."

"Thanks."

The trial was quicker than the divorce, but within months, both Andre and Beck were having their final hearing. Jade was sitting in the rows of the courthouse, in the same spot she always reserved for herself whenever attending the trials of the criminals she helped to put away.

Beside her was Freddie, also beaming with pride.

A man in the jury booth read a slip of paper to the judge, after taking only a few short hours to deliberate. "The jury finds the defendant guilty on all counts." The judge turned his head towards the two men seated at the defense table.

Andre had his head in his hands, but remained perfectly still. Beck was sitting in an upright position, his eyes were narrow and glued on the judge, but his forehead was tense and his lips had been pulled into a long and thin line.

"Andre Harris…" The judge shifted his glasses up. Andre took a deal in which he was willing to testify against Beck in exchange for a lesser sentence. Jade didn't mind, but she held her breath since she wasn't sure what this sentence was going to be. "For your role in the murders of Lisa White, Victoria Vega, and Katrina Vega, I hereby sentence you to thirty years on each count. For the abduction of Vanessa Oliver, and attempted murder, you are charged an additional twenty years."

Jade closed her eyes and breathed out suddenly. It was a grand total of one hundred and ten years, but only for those three. He still had to be extradited to Louisiana, where he would stand trial for all of the women he'd murdered.

It was highly likely he would be given the death penalty for those. Whatever deal he made regarding the murders here made him immune to such a penalty.

"Beckett Oliver." Her eyes shot open and she pulled her left hand over her mouth. Freddie took her right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, comforting her. Beck straightened his back and rolled his shoulders. "For your crime in masterminding the deaths of…I hereby sentence you to death. Ten years to this day, you are to be executed by way of lethal injection."

Beck dropped his head and slowly shook it.

In that moment, Jade felt the weight of the world fall from her shoulders. If she hadn't been holding onto Freddie, she was certain to float into the air like a balloon.

"It's over," she cried under her rattling breath. "It's really over." She smiled openly and stifled a triumphant laugh. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling, and she saw them.

The four girls were standing in air, each looking serenely at the courtroom. Trina's left arm was protectively around her sister's shoulders. Tori's right hand was gripping Lisa's, and Sam was standing beside Lisa with her arms crossed.

All four looked at her one final time, with gratitude and relief, then faded away.

They were at peace now, and Jade could feel it; it was the same as with any homicide victim whose case she solved, but there was still that small bit that felt different. It was more than just another homicide case, it was the case of her career, and she made it.

"We did it, Freddie. We did it."

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><p>So the case has come to a close, what did you think of this chapter? There's one more thing left...the epilogue. For you, I will put the epilogue up now.<p> 


	30. An Ending but a New Beginning

Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 30 (An Ending, but a New Beginning)<p>

Ten years later, Jade sat amid the friends and family of the victims taken by Beck Oliver. Before them a glass window was the one thing separating them from the monster. He was being strapped to the metal table and was wearing only his boxers.

Beside her was Freddie, her second husband now of six years. Vanessa and Ryan were also with them, and both were much happier now than they'd been in a long time. Rachel was beside Vanessa while Jason, Lindsay, and the other two children were seated in the row behind them. The couple had married about eight years ago, after almost two years of dating.

It was rough for everyone to be here, to be reminded of the pain they'd gone through so long ago, but it was necessary. They hadn't been present for Andre's execution in Louisiana-the state made quick work of their serial killer, sentencing him to death and executing him only five years after his trial.

Seeing Beck here was a relief, despite everything. She no longer felt that connection she once felt with the man, and was happier with the man beside her than she ever was with the murderer. Still, it wasn't easy to see him go.

"I don't like being here," Jade whispered to Freddie. He squeezed her hand and flashed an understanding smile. When she looked past him, the looks on her children's faces astonished her.

Vanessa and Ryan were glaring coldly at their father. Over the years, they'd grown close to Freddie and never talked about Beck. She knew Vanessa felt betrayed, but never really heard much from Ryan. Still, both wanted to attend their father's execution, and they weren't minors anymore, so they could be there of their own will.

The executioner hit a switch that raised up the table and made Beck face those in attendance. He huffed multiple times and sneered at the man beside him. "Is there anything you would like to say to those here today?" The man asked. Beck raised an eyebrow and glanced off to the side.

"My only regret is I let Andre loose as long as I did." Jade curled her lip into a smirk as she stared at the executioner. She'd recently been promoted to Captain rank and was in charge of her own squad of homicide detectives. As a captain, she had a few connections and was able to pull in a few favors.

As a final insult to Beck, she managed to call in a favor and reached out to Ross.

Over the years he'd made a name for himself. He found a nice girl, settled down and even had a son of his own that he was trying to raise right. He also continued on to medical school and became a physician's assistant.

Jade never forgot what he said to her so long ago, and now, he was a citizen executioner for this one execution. "Beck has no idea, does he?" Freddie inquired. Jade shook her head and narrowed her eyes as her former husband looked up to the executioner.

"Try not to enjoy it too much," Beck muttered. "I should have died ten years ago when that fruitcake shot me in the head." Ross's lips curved at the corner and his eyebrows rose while he lowered Beck down.

"Oh don't you worry about that. I don't actually enjoy doing this, but I feel all right." Ross tapped the needle once as a prison nurse applied a tourniquet to Beck's arm. Beck closed his hands tightly and shut his eyes. "Do you remember my name?"

"Hardly Care."

"Ross. Samuel Ross." Beck's eyes snapped open and his muscles tensed up. His lips separated and fear poured into his eyes for the first time. "They let citizen doctors and PA's carry out executions now."

"You're a fucking doctor now?"

"Not quite."

"Shit. How the hell-" Beck tilted his head back, hanging it upside down and staring at the window. Jade stared back at him with a cold look in her eyes, listening as the man cursed her.

Ross placed a hand to Beck's arm and brought the needle towards the vein. "That poor girl, those poor women. It's only a shame that you outlived them and lasted as long as you have. I can't stand killing, but scum like you? Yeah I don't think I mind."

"Goddamn it." The needle pricked Beck's arm. Ross's thumb flicked to the plunger and shoved it down. Over the years, the serum had been operated on to the point that it could kill its target in a matter of seconds. The muscles and nerves in the body would react accordingly, but the person was dead nonetheless.

Jade held onto Freddie's hand, gripping it tight as she watched Beck's eyes roll into the back of his head. His body began its unconscious convulsing, and Ross turned away with a look of disgust.

It was true that no executioner actually liked their job, not even this man that wanted nothing more than to take out the man responsible for Trina's murder. "I thought I would hate seeing him here," Jason said. Jade looked over her shoulder and frowned. "I don't like being in the same area as that man, but I'll be honest…knowing that he felt remorse makes me despise him a lot less than the man that actually took Trina away from me."

"I'm sorry Jason."

"Don't be." Jason closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath. "Beck's death doesn't bring the victims back, but it helps us heal. It helps knowing that man can't possibly do anything to hurt anybody else."

"I'm glad he's gone," Vanessa replied. Jade raised an eyebrow and watched her daughter trace her fingers across the pink scar on her neck. "I mean, I know he's my father, but…I don't know. It isn't easy. I'm just glad we don't have to fear him anymore."

"Our dad?" Ryan stood up and grabbed his varsity jacket from the chair. "Freddie's our dad, Vanessa." Vanessa smiled sadly and rose to her feet. The rest began to stand, with each person taking one final glimpse at Beck before the paramedics rolled him out of the room.

Like her children, Jade felt nothing towards Beck. She'd grown past him. Sure she still had a flicker of sorrow for the man, but it wasn't overwhelming enough to make a significant impact.

"I only wish Mr. Vega could have been here," she said. Freddie moved his hand to her lower back and gently kissed her right temple.

"So do I."

David passed away not long after the trial. He'd told everyone that he was ready to go, he could finally rest and be with his daughters knowing their killer was off the streets.

Also missing from the execution was Holly. Jade found it highly ironic that_ David_ was the one still pining for his daughters, still loving them long after death and thinking constantly about them while Holly never did anything. She never showed up at the trial, never showed up to anything that had to do with the girls.

On one hand, Jade was disgusted by it, but on the other hand she understood why the mother would want to distance herself emotionally.

Jade and Freddie left the building last, with Vanessa and Ryan in front of them. She watched her two children with pride, smiling when Vanessa ran up to meet a boy waiting beside a bright red convertible. This was the girl's boyfriend, and he reminded her a little of Jason, so she was certain he would treat her daughter well.

As for Ryan, he was like his father when it came to women, but he didn't have the same narcissistic ego. He was dating somebody, and routinely told women that were interested in him that he wasn't available. It was a lesson well learned, and Ryan was sure not to become anything like his father.

"I still want to talk to that guy," Freddie said while pointing at Vanessa's boyfriend. The couple were already in the car and starting it up. "I swear, every time I show up, he disappears! What in the hell."

Jade rolled her eyes and slid her arms around his left arm. She leaned into him and smiled brightly. It warmed her heart seeing him so protective of the girl; part of the reason she fell for him after the trial and divorce was because of how much he cared for the kids and the family.

"He's a good guy."

"You've already talked to him, haven't you?"

"Yep."

"How did I miss that?"

"You were asleep on the couch when he came over to take Vanessa on a date. We talked while she got ready." Freddie's jaw fell open and Jade looked back to him with a smug expression. "You were so stressed out and tired from all the paperwork that I just couldn't bear to wake you."

"Evil, pure evil."

"Yep. Don't worry, you'll have your daddy moment soon enough I'm sure."

Freddie laughed openly. They made it to their car and he unlocked the driver's side. Jade looked off to the vicinity of Ryan's vehicle and watched him back out of the parking spot. When he left, there wasn't a car in front of where he'd been parked.

Instead, there were two vaguely familiar girls with long brown hair and identical faces. Her head jerked back and her eyes slanted. "Freddie?" The girls were looking around anxiously and looked lost while they were walking through the lot. Freddie glanced over with raised eyebrows and turned towards the girls.

They were young, just younger than Ryan. As she pieced together the identity of the twins, she felt her heart skip a note. She knew these two. "Oh god, it's Sami and Angie." Freddie's jaw dropped as the girls approached them.

"I'm telling you," Sami said with an urgent voice, "I'm too nervous for this." Sami was wringing her hands and was slouching while Angie was walking tall and confidently. "I think the execution's over."

"Sami, they see us." Sami's eyes widened and shot up to Freddie. The girls stopped in front of the couple. Freddie remained frozen, staring with surprise at the girls. "You're Fred Benson?" He nodded slowly. "Mom told us about you, we wanted to find you…your office said you were attending an execution."

"Y-Yes." Freddie adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "That's finished now. Does your mom know you're here?"

Angie's lips pressed together and her head rolled to the right. "No." The girl shrugged nonchalantly while her sister bowed her head. "I don't care. I want to know who my father is, she doesn't want us to, but I want to."

"He has another family," Sami whispered, "I don't think he wants anything to do with us."

Freddie stammered for a minute, stopping when Jade nudged him sharply in the back. This was his chance to get to know the two girls he'd longed to know, and he was about to blow it.

"That's not true." Angie and Sami exchanged surprised glances. Freddie approached them, smiling openly. "I'd love to get to know you two. In fact, this here is my wife, Jade." Jade waved at the girls and walked beside Freddie, taking his hand in hers.

"Why don't we all grab some dinner?" This was an excellent time to get to know these two girls, although it hurt to know Melanie still didn't want them to know their dad. It might be hard to get her to jump on board with the idea, but the important thing was that Freddie and these girls would get the chance to know each other.

It was the start of something new. The lid could be closed on the past, never forgotten but put behind them. Life would always continue on, no matter what happened.

The twins nodded in her direction and grabbed each other's hand. "Sounds good. We like Italian food." Freddie's eyes lit up and he started to bounce on his toes.

"So do I! I know the perfect place."

"We parked at the other end of the lot," Sami said, "Can you drive us to our car and we'll follow you?"

"I'd be happy to."

* * *

><p>Yeah it leaves it open to a potential sequel, but that would be done in the iCarly realm and I may not have time or the ability to do <em>another<em> ongoing WIP at the moment. For this tale, it's over. Jade closes the lid on the cold case once and for all. Thank you to everyone who followed this journey, and I appreciate everyone that left their commentary, input and critique! Don't forget to let me know what you thought of the execution, of the twins, and so forth. Until next time!


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